| Report: US topsoil contains levels of radioactive cesium up to 10,000 percent higher than previously - Thursday, November 03, 2011Jonathan Benson
Natural News
November 3, 2011 Few in the mainstream media are talking about it these days, but radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is still spewing into and contaminating the environment. And a professional engineer from Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s (WPI) Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering says that levels of radioactive cesium in US topsoil have recently been detected at levels up to 10,000 percent higher than previous studies have found. Marco Kaltofen, PE, has been investigating nuclear material release as part of his dissertation, entitledRadiation Exposure to the Population in Japan After the Earthquake. And samples of US topsoil he recently collected and analyzed revealed levels of radioactive cesium up to eight nanoCuries per kilogram (nCi/Kg), which is about 10,000 percent higher than levels previously assumed in a study by the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). The UCB study included soil samples taken from various locations throughout California. The sample containing the highest level of radioactive cesium came from Sacramento, and registered at a mere 0.0739 nCi/Kg. But Kaltofen’s readings, which are believed to have come from somewhere near the Cascade mountain range in the Pacific Northwest, were more than 108 times this amount. What this means is that individuals living in areas like the Pacific Northwest and California continue to be heavily exposed to high levels of Fukushima radiation that are blowing over from Japan. And if Kaltofen’s readings are accurate and indicative of exposure levels throughout the region, the food supply coming from that region is most likely also highly contaminated with deadly radiation. Cesium-134 and cesium-137, both of which were identified in the soil samples, have a relatively long half-life. Cesium-134 takes two years to decay by half, while cesium-137 takes a disturbing 30 years to decay by half. Both substances, of course, damage healthy cells and DNA, and can lead to cancer. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to stop testing for Fukushima radiation back in May, however, after declaring that “no harmful levels of radiation (were) reaching the US from Japan.” But based on Kaltofen’s new data, the EPA is either woefully ignorant of reality, or is deliberately covering up the truth about radiation and deceiving the American public. Sources for this article include: http://enenews.com/university-resea… |
| Coming to a Store Near You: Radioactive Fish? - Tuesday, June 28, 2011Washington’s Blog | The FDA is refusing to test fish for radioactivity, even though water currents will eventually bring debris from Fukushima.
June 28, 2011 As I pointed out in April, the FDA is refusing to test fish for radioactivity, even though water currents will eventually bring debris from Fukushima: The debris mass, which appears as an island from the air, contains cars, trucks, tractors, boats and entire houses floating in the current heading toward the U.S. and Canada, according to ABC News.The bulk of the debris will likely not be radioactive, as it was presumably washed out to sea during the initial tsunami – before much radioactivity had leaked. But this shows the power of the currents from Japan to the West Coast. Of course, fish don’t necessarily stay still, either. For example, the Telegraph notes that scientists tagged a bluefin tuna and found that it crossed between Japan and the West Coast three times in 600 days:
That might be extreme, but the point is that fish exposed to radiation somewhere out in the ocean might end up in U.S. waters.
Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen doesn’t think there will be a risk within the next year. But as the plume spreads across the Pacific, and as small fish get eaten by bigger fish (i.e. bioaccumulation), it would be prudent to measure radiation in fish caught off the West Coast of the U.S. (and Hawaii), and Gundersen suggests we contact our representatives and demand measurement: Gundersen Discusses Current Condition of Reactors, TEPCO Claim of “No Fission” in Fuel Pool, and Lack of Radiation Monitoring in from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo. The Telegraph confirmed recently that one year seems to be about the right time frame: The waste will move at a speed of between 5 and 10 miles a day, catching the North Pacific Current and crossing the ocean in as little as 12 months. Off the coast of California, debris is expected to circulate either north or south, taking either the Alaskan or North Equatorial currents back to the western reaches of the ocean. Much is predicted to end up caught in the vortex of the Eastern Garbage Patch, which is estimated to measure between 270,000 square miles and 5.8 million square miles. “Over time plastic debris eventually fragments into tiny particles creating ‘plastic plankton’ or ‘microplastic,’ which is a serious long-term concern, particularly for marine food webs.” the organisation said.
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| Radioactive Dust From Japan Hit North America Days After Disaster - Friday, June 24, 2011Radioactive Dust From Japan Hit North America Days After Disaster … But Governments “Lied” About Meltdowns and Radiation Washington’s Blog
June 24, 2011 I started warning the day after the Japanese earthquake that radiation from Fukushima could reach North America. See this, this and this. Mainichi Daily reports today: Radioactive materials spewed out from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant reached North America soon after the meltdown and were carried all the way to Europe, according to a simulation by university researchers. The computer simulation by researchers at Kyushu University and the University of Tokyo, among other institutions, calculated dispersal of radioactive dust from the Fukushima plant beginning at 9 p.m. on March 14, when radiation levels around the plant spiked. The team found that radioactive dust was likely caught by the jet stream and carried across the Pacific Ocean, its concentration dropping as it spread. According to the computer model, radioactive materials at a concentration just one-one hundred millionth of that found around the Fukushima plant hit the west coast of North America three days later, and reached the skies over much of Europe about a week later. According to the research team, updrafts in a low-pressure system passing over the disaster-stricken Tohoku region on March 14-15 carried some of the radioactive dust that had collected about 1.5 kilometers above the plant to an altitude of about 5 kilometers. The jet stream then caught the dust and diffused it over the Pacific Ocean and beyond.
Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen notes that Seattle residents breathed in an average of 5 “hot particles” a day in April: (No, the levels of radiation are not safe.) I also have repeatedly pointed out that Tepco, the Japanese government and governments around the world covered up the extent of the Fukushima crisis. See this, this, this and this. Now even the International Atomic Energy Agency and World Meteorological Organization are complaining that they were unable to obtain necessary information from Japan about Fukushima, which led to difficulties projecting how radioactive materials would spread around world. However, this is somewhat disingenuous given that the IAEA and Nuclear Regulatory Commission knew within weeks that there had been meltdowns. Indeed, as the prestigious scientific journal Nature notes: Shortly after a massive tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on 11 March, an unmanned monitoring station on the outskirts of Takasaki, Japan, logged a rise in radiation levels. Within 72 hours, scientists had analysed samples taken from the air and transmitted their analysis to Vienna, Austria — the headquarters of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), an international body set up to monitor nuclear weapons tests. It was just the start of a flood of data collected about the accident by the CTBTO’s global network of 63 radiation monitoring stations. In the following weeks, the data were shared with governments around the world, but not with academics or the public.
The attempted cover up of the severity of the Fukushima disaster is nothing new. Governments have been covering up nuclear meltdowns for 50 years, and the basic design for nuclear reactors was not chosen for safety, but because it worked on Navy submarines … and produced plutonium for the military. (Indeed, the government’s response to every crisis appears to be to try to cover it up; and see this.) Finally, I’ve previously noted that the amount of radioactive fuel at Fukushima dwarfs Chernyobyl. Arnie Gundersen has said that Fukushima is the worst industrial accident in history, and has 20 times more radiation than Chernobyl. Well-known physicist Michio Kaku just confirmed all of the above in a CNN interview: In the last two weeks, everything we knew about that accident has been turned upside down. We were told three partial melt downs, don’t worry about it. Now we know it was 100 percent core melt in all three reactors. Radiation minimal that was released. Now we know it was comparable to radiation at Chernobyl.*** We knew it was much more severe than they were saying, because radiation was coming out left and right. So in other words, they lied to us. *** In New York City, you can actually see it in the milk. You can actually see it has iodine, 131, actually spiked a little bit in our milk in New York City, but it is very small. *** Realize Chernobyl was one core’s worth radiation causing a $200 billion accident and it is still on- going. Here we have 20 cores worth of radiation. Three totally melted, one damaged and the [rest in] spent fuel pumps, 20 cores worth of highly radioactive materials.
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| Downgraded Typhoon Poised to Spread Fukushima Radiation - Monday, May 30, 2011Kurt Nimmo | Synthetic resins poured on damaged reactors will not stop radiation from entering the sea and air.
Infowars.com
May 30, 2011 Once again, TEPCO, the utility company responsible for the Fukushima disaster, is ill-prepared to protect the people of Japan. In response to the former Typhoon Songda now steaming toward the island and threatening to blow radiation into the sea and air, Tokyo Electric Power Company has apologized.
On Saturday, before Songda degraded into a tropical storm, TEPCO said some reactor buildings were uncovered and radiation would spread due to the storm. “We have made utmost efforts, but we have not completed covering the damaged reactor buildings,” said an official at that time. During the ongoing crisis, the Japanese government has continually demonstrated its capacity for understatement. In response to TEPCO’s ineptitude, a special adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan criticized the large utility corporation, saying that the current safety measures “cannot be said to be appropriate.” TEPCO has been pouring synthetic resins over the facility to stop radioactive material from being swept away, but the job is far from complete, news reports indicate. The threat of further radioactive contamination comes as the United Nation’s nuclear monitoring group, the International Atomic Energy Agency, visits the crippled plant. On Saturday, Bloomberg reported that academics warned TEPCO failed to disclose the scale of radiation leaks and now faces a “massive problem” with contaminated water. “Contaminated water is increasing and this is a massive problem,” said Tetsuo Iguchi, a specialist in isotope analysis and radiation detection at Nagoya University. “They need to find a place to store the contaminated water and they need to guarantee it won’t go into the soil. |
| Fukushima Reactor 1 Drywell Reading Hits All Time High 204 Sieverts/Hour - Thursday, May 26, 2011Catastrophe in the last 20 or so years which soon will surpass Chernobyl in total radioactive emissions into the environment?
Remember Fukushima, the worst nuclear catastrophe in the last 20 or so years which soon will surpass Chernobyl in total radioactive emissions into the environment? Well, the radiation in the now officially melted down Reactor 1 has just hit the highest ever reading since the crisis began, or 204 sieverts/hour, recorded in the drywell. Not Micro. Not Milli. Sieverts. It appears the “excuse” that the counters are broken isn’t being used this time, although we are confident that the “spurious reading” allegations will fly. read more ... |
| Japan's Crisis gets worse.. - Tuesday, May 24, 2011 |
| 20 terabecquerels of radioactive materials flowed out to Pacific - Monday, May 23, 2011Kyodo News | 250 tons of water tainted with radioactive substances leaked near the No. 3 reactor. Kyodo
May 22, 2011 Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday that 250 tons of water tainted with about 20 terabecquerels of radioactive substances leaked into the Pacific Ocean from a pit near the seawater intake for the No. 3 reactor at the troubled Fukushima No. 1 plant earlier this month. While the figure is far lower than the 4,700 terabecquerels released near the No. 2 reactor in April, it is still about 100 times the permissible level, according to Tepco. At the time, the water was registering 9.8 terabecquerels of cesium-137, 9.3 terabecquerels of cesium-134 and 0.85 terabecquerels of iodine-131. The leak is believed to have started at around 2 a.m. May 10 and was stopped at 7 p.m. May 11, Tepco said. The amount of water that escaped in that 41-hour period totaled 250 tons, it said. The leakage of tainted water raised the concentration of radioactive substances in the port of the power plant but did not significantly change the level beyond it, the utility said. The leak was reported to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. |
| Nuclear Meltdown - Wednesday, May 18, 2011Kurt Nimmo | Meltdowns began soon after tsunami crippled the nuclear plant in March.
Busby: Fukushima reactors a raging radioactive inferno
There are signs that two further reactors at Japan’s troubled Fukushima plant may have gone into meltdown. Similar problems were earlier confirmed at the number one reactor. Its operators are suspected of failing to properly cool them after the earthquake. RT gets some insight on this from Professor Christopher Busby, who’s from the European Committee on Radiation Risks. |
| Meltdown and all the rad's in the People - Thursday, May 12, 2011Bloomberg | Tokyo Electric Power Co. said fuel rods are fully exposed in the No. 1 reactor at its stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown, Exposed Fuel Rods; Media Shrugs
Despite the bombshell revelation that fuel rods at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant have been fully exposed since the early days of the disaster, that reactor number 1 is officially in meltdown, along with news that reactor 4 is on the verge of collapse, the corporate media is largely disinterested in the story amidst continued fearmongering about terror attacks and endless coverage of the Bin Laden carnival act.
Japanese Officials Admit That Fukushima Suffered Nuclear Meltdown
One of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant did suffer a nuclear meltdown, Japanese officials admitted for the first time today, describing a pool of molten fuel at the bottom of the reactor’s containment vessel.
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| Deadly Silence on Fukushima - Tuesday, May 10, 2011Vivian Norris | Japan government continues to prevent freelance journalists and overseas media from gaining access to official press conferences. Vivian Norris
Huffington Post
May 10, 211  I received the following email a few days ago from a Russian nuclear physicist friend who is an expert on the kinds of gases being released at Fukushima. Here is what he wrote:
About Japan: the problem is that the reactor uses “dirty” fuel. It is a combination of plutonium and uranium (MOX). I suspect that the old fuel rods have bean spread out due to the explosion and the surrounding area is contaminated with plutonium which means you can never return to this place again. It is like a new Tchernobyl. Personally, I am not surprised that the authority has not informed people about this.
I have been following the Fukushima story very closely since the earthquake and devastating tsunami. I have asked scientists I know, nuclear physicists and others about where they find real information. I have also watched as the news has virtually disappeared. There is something extremely disturbing going on, and having lived through the media blackout in France back in April and early May 1986, and speaking to doctors who are deeply concerned by the dramatic increase in cancers appearing at very young ages, it is obvious that information is being held back. We are still told not to eat mushrooms and truffles from parts of Europe, not wild boar and reindeer from Germany and Finland 25 years later. A special thanks to people like European Representative Michele Rivasi, who has followed this issue since Chernobyl: Rivasi, a Green MEP and founder of France’s Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity, told EurActiv that she was worried the tests would cover up nuclear risks and reinstate business as usual. “It’s very important to have scientists who are not already paid by the nuclear power industry,” she said. “If they are the same people from Euratom and national authorities they use today, why would they say anything different to what they say all the time?” One resource for information on Chernobyl deaths and cancers/illnesses was only just recently translated and can be found online: “Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment” by Alexey Yablokov, Vassily Nesterenko, and Alexey Nesterenko. Another very good report on Chernobyl is this one, which also outlines the disturbing relationship between WHO and the nuclear industry. The best site I have found for up-to-date information by nuclear industry experts is here. Arnie Gundersen was a high-level executive for years and analyzes the information he has been receiving in a calm and scientific way. His latest update is entitled, “Fukushima Groundwater Contamination Worst in Nuclear History.” Gundersen is in touch with senior members of the Japanese nuclear establishment. What is highly disturbing is that the main reason Japan does not appear to be as bad a Chernobyl is that the wind was blowing out to sea and not for the most part towards land. But all this has done is spread the cancers out into the worldwide population as opposed to concentrating it all in Japan. It will be very difficult to tell, as it was in France, Scandinavia and other places, where the Chernobyl cloud traveled in the days following the disaster. I will summarize some of Gunderson’s very disturbing and important information here: 1. There was a hydrogen explosion, and it was a detonation, not a deflagration — in other words the fire burned up not burned down. 2. A frame-by-frame analysis shows a flame that confirms that the fuel pool is burning as a result of an explosion which started as a hydrogen explosion but that could not have lifted the fuel into the air so there must have been a violent explosion at the bottom of the fuel pool. But more data is needed. 3. Gunderson speaks about past criticalities in other nuclear reactors around the world, and I find it odd we are not hearing about these and how they can teach us about what is going on now at Fukushima. 4. Radioactive water is being pumped out and groundwater is contaminated, so there must be a leak or leaks, and this disaster is in no way contained. There will be contamination for a long time to come and this groundwater contamination is moving inland. One town is reporting radioactive sewage sludge from ground water or rainwater. 5. The Greenpeace ship Rainbow water has requested the Japanese government to test the waters near Japan, and Japan has refused this independent data request. The EPA has also shut down all inspection centers and is NOT inspecting fish. (Why the silence?) Since Gunderson made this latest video, just a day or so ago new photo evidence seems to be showing burning and new fires taking place at Fukushima (from TBS JNN Japan): Why is this not on the front page of every single newspaper in the world? Why are official agencies not measuring from many places around the world and reporting on what is going on in terms of contamination every single day since this disaster happened? Radioactivity has been being released now for almost two full months! Even small amounts when released continuously, and in fact especially continuous exposure to small amounts of radioactivity, can cause all kinds of increases in cancers. One reason no one is reporting on this nor allowed to go inside the exclusion zone nor even measure the waters off of Japan is because of the following compiled by Makiko Segawa, a staff writer at the Shingetsu News Agency. She prepared this report from Fukushima and Tokyo for www.japanfocus.org: Freelance journalists and foreign media are pursuing the facts, even going into the radiation exclusion zone. However, surprisingly, the Japan government continues to prevent freelance journalists and overseas media from gaining access to official press conferences at the prime minister’s house and government. Uesugi stated that since March 11th, the government has excluded all internet media and all foreign media from official press conferences on the “Emergency Situation.” While foreign media have scrambled to gather information about the Fukushima Reactor, they have been denied access to the direct information provided by the government and one consequence of this is that “rumor-rife news has been broadcast overseas.” In fact, access has been limited in two ways. First, while Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio holds twice daily press conferences for representatives of the big Japanese media, registered representatives of freelance and internet media are limited to a single press conference per week. Second, in contrast to Japanese media who are briefed regularly by Edano and periodically by Prime Miniser Kan, foreign media are briefed exclusively by administrative staff.
Uesugi also notes that at TEPCO press conferences, which are now being held at company headquarters, foreign correspondents and Japanese freelancers regularly ask probing questions while mainstream journalists simply record and report company statements reiterating that the situation is basically under control and there is nothing to worry about. One reason for this, Uesugi suggests, is that TEPCO, a giant media sponsor, has an annual 20 billion yen advertising budget. “The media keeps defending the information from TEPCO!” “The Japanese media today is no different from the wartime propaganda media that kept repeating to the very end that ‘Japan is winning the war against America,’” Uesugi exclaimed.
There is one particularly telling example of the media shielding TEPCO by suppressing information. This concerns “plutonium.” According to Uesugi, after the reactor blew up on March 14, there was concern about the leakage of plutonium. However, astonishingly, until two weeks later when Uesugi asked, not a single media representative had raised the question of plutonium at TEPCO’s press conferences. On March 26, in response to Uesugi’s query, TEPCO stated, “We do not measure the level of plutonium and do not even have a detector to scale it.” Ironically, the next day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano announced that “plutonium was detected.” When TEPCO finally released data on radioactive plutonium on March 28, it stated that plutonium -238, -239, and -240 were found in the ground, but insisted that it posed no human risk. Since TEPCO provided no clarification of the meaning of the plutonium radiation findings, the mainstream press merely reported the presence of the radiation without assessment (link). Nippon Television on March 29 headlined its interview with Tokyo University Prof. Nakagawa Keiichi, a radiation specialist, “Plutonium from the power plant–No effect on neighbors.” On March 15, Uesugi criticized TEPCO for its closed attitude toward information on a TBS radio program. For this, he was immediately dismissed from his regular program. The scandal involving TEPCO’s silencing of the media took an interesting turn two weeks later. At the time of the disaster on March 11, TEPCO Chairman Katsumata Tsunehisa was hosting dozens of mainstream media executives on a “study session” in China. When asked about this fact by freelance journalist Tanaka Ryusaku at a TEPCO press conference on March 30, Katsumata defended the practice. “It is a fact that we traveled together to China,” he said. “[TEPCO] did not pay all the expenses of the trip, but we paid more than they did. Certainly they are executives of the mass media, but they are all members of the study session.” When Tanaka requested the names of the media executives hosted by TEPCO in China, Katsumata retorted, “I cannot reveal their names since this is private information.” But it is precisely such collusive relations between mainstream media, the government and TEPCO, that results in the censorship of information concerning nuclear problems. Now the Japanese government has moved to crack down on independent reportage and criticism of the government’s policies in the wake of the disaster by deciding what citizens may or may not talk about in public. A new project team has been created by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, the National Police Agency, and METI to combat “rumors” deemed harmful to Japanese security in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.” We need to demonstrate and write to our representatives and demand that measuring be done around the world continuously. Fukushima’s nuclear disaster is still going on. People need accurate information to protect themselves. Here is how after Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Chernobyl doctors worked with those who had been contaminated to decontaminate them (Sources: Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D., Nagasaki 1945 (London: Quartet Books, 1981); Tatsuichiro Akizuki, “How We Survived Nagasaki,” East West Journal, December 1980): Macrobiotic Diet Prevents Radiation Sickness Among A-Bomb Survivors in Japan – In August, 1945, at the time of the atomic bombing of Japan, Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D., was director of the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Francis’s Hospital in Nagasaki. Most patients in the hospital, located one mile from the center of the blast, survived the initial effects of the bomb, but soon after came down with symptoms of radiation sickness from the fallout that had been released. Dr. Akizuki fed his staff and patients a strict macrobiotic diet of brown rice, miso soup, wakame and other sea vegetables, Hokkaido pumpkin, and sea salt and prohibited the consumption of sugar and sweets. As a result, he saved everyone in his hospital, while many other survivors in the city perished from radiation sickness. I gave the cooks and staff strict orders that they should make unpolished whole-grain rice balls, adding some salt to them, prepare strong miso soup for each meal, and never use sugar. When they didn’t follow my orders, I scolded them without mercy, ‘Never take sugar. Sugar will destroy your blood!’…
his dietary method made it possible for me to remain alive and go on working vigorously as a doctor. The radioactivity may not have been a fatal dose, but thanks to this method, Brother Iwanaga, Reverend Noguchi, Chief Nurse Miss Murai, other staff members and in-patients, as well as myself, all kept on living on the lethal ashes of the bombed ruins. It was thanks to this food that all of us could work for people day after day, overcoming fatigue or symptoms of atomic disease and survive the disaster” free from severe symptoms of radioactivity. People need answers, data and honest information to help them deal with what is going on. Media blackouts, propaganda and greedy self-interested industries, of any kind, who allow human beings’ health to be affected, and deaths to occur, must be stopped now. That senior TEPCO man and the leading nuclear academic in Japan did not break down crying and resign their positions because all was well at Fukushima. Think about it world, and act now before it is too late.
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| Deadly Silence on Fukushima - Monday, May 09, 2011Vivian Norris
Huffington Post
May 9, 2011 I received the following email a few days ago from a Russian nuclear physicist friend who is an expert on the kinds of gases being released at Fukushima. Here is what he wrote: “About Japan: the problem is that the reactor uses “dirty” fuel. It is a combination of plutonium and uranium (MOX).
I suspect that the old fuel rods have bean spread out due to the explosion and the surrounding area is contaminated with plutonium which means you can never return to this place again. It is like a new Tchernobyl. Personally, I am not surprised that the authority has not informed people about this”. I have been following the Fukushima story very closely since the earthquake and devastating tsunami. I have asked scientists I know, nuclear physicists and others about where they find real information. I have also watched as the news has virtually disappeared. There is something extremely disturbing going on and having lived through the media blackout in France back in April and early May 1986, and speaking to doctors who are deeply concerned by the dramatic increase in cancers appearing at very young ages, it is obvious that information is being held back. We are still told not to eat mushrooms and truffles from parts of Europe, not wild boar and reindeer from Germany and Finland 25 years later. Full article here |
| Media Ignores Fukushima Fire - Sunday, May 08, 2011Kurt Nimmo | The situation at Fukushima is not newsworthy for the corporate media. Image captures of video footage from the Fukushima nuclear plant appear to show a fire. According to Alexander Higgins and other bloggers, the Japanese shut down the webcam after the images below appeared on the internet. Lucas White Field Hixson posted the images last night, according to Higgins. There is also an animation of the images posted on YouTube.
May 8, 2011Image captures of video footage from the Fukushima nuclear plant appear to show a fire. According to Alexander Higgins and other bloggers, the Japanese shut down the webcam after the images below appeared on the internet. Lucas White Field Hixson posted the images last night, according to Higgins. There is also an animation of the images posted on YouTube. Fukushima is now almost entirely off the corporate media radar screen. If the photos below are accurate, the situation at the plant is out of control and still emitting dangerous levels of radiation. There is no mention of the fire or a possible explosion at the plant by the corporate media. 
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| Expert: “It Seems To Be Part Of The Pattern Of The EPA Trying To Make Sure That There Are No Measure - Saturday, May 07, 2011As I noted Tuesday, the EPA has suspended all heightened radiation monitoring, and will simply test and report every 3 months as if there were no nuclear crisis in Japan. Washington’s Blog
May 7, 2011 As I noted Tuesday, the EPA has suspended all heightened radiation monitoring, and will simply test and report every 3 months as if there were no nuclear crisis in Japan. Bay Citizen writes: That means that the agency will return to testing radiation levels in rainwater, drinking water and milk every three months. The next such tests are planned in August. Additionally, the EPA said it is “evaluating the need” for additional radiation air monitors that were deployed around the nation after the nuclear accident. The lack special monitoring efforts will make it more difficult for residents to assess the local hazards of the Japanese disaster. Critics lambasted the decision Thursday. “I really am horrified,” said Daniel Hirsch, a nuclear policy lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “It’s quite staggering and it seems to be part of the pattern of the EPA trying to make sure that there are no measurements that could cause people to be concerned.” As I noted in March: The EPA is closing ranks with the nuclear power industry: EPA officials, however, refused to answer questions or make staff members available to explain the exact location and number of monitors, or the levels of radiation, if any, being recorded at existing monitors in California. Margot Perez-Sullivan, a spokeswoman at the EPA’s regional headquarters in San Francisco, said the agency’s written statement would stand on its own. Critics said the public needs more information. “It’s disappointing,” said Bill Magavern, director of Sierra Club California. “I have a strong suspicion that EPA is being silenced by those in the federal government who don’t want anything to stand in the way of a nuclear power expansion in this country, heavily subsidized by taxpayer money.”
The EPA has pulled 8 of its 18 radiation monitors in California, Oregon and Washington because (by implication) they are giving readings which seem too high.
Indeed, all nuclear regulators have been captured by the nuclear industry.
Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen urges people to call their congressman and demand that EPA increase monitoring.
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| Japan prime minister’s nuclear adviser resigns - Saturday, April 30, 2011A senior nuclear adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan submitted his resignation on Friday, saying the government had ignored his advice and failed to follow the law.
AFP
April 30, 2011 TOKYO — A senior nuclear adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan submitted his resignation on Friday, saying the government had ignored his advice and failed to follow the law. Toshiso Kosako, a Tokyo University professor who was named last month as an advisor to Kan, said the government had only taken ad hoc measures to contain the crisis at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. In a tearful press conference, he said the government and its commissions had taken “flexible approaches” to existing laws and regulations, and ignored his advice after he was named an advisor on March 16. “I cannot help but to think (the prime minister’s office and other agencies) are only taking stopgap measures… and delaying the end” of the nuclear crisis, he told reporters. read more ... |
| ‘Fukushima – gross miscarriage of radiation science’ - Thursday, April 28, 2011With Chernobyl’s 25th anniversary reminding the world of the terrifying consequences of nuclear safety negligence, many eyes have turned to the continuing crisis in Japan. RT talks to Arnold Gundersen, Energy Adviser at Fairewinds Associates, from Vermont in the US.
RT
April 28, 2011With Chernobyl’s 25th anniversary reminding the world of the terrifying consequences of nuclear safety negligence, many eyes have turned to the continuing crisis in Japan. RT talks to Arnold Gundersen, Energy Adviser at Fairewinds Associates, from Vermont in the US.
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| New facts on Japans Nuclear Crisis and the cover up - Tuesday, April 26, 2011Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
April 26, 2011 British scientist Christopher Busby, a researcher on the negative health effects of ionizing radiation, told Russia Today that one of the explosions at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan was a nuclear explosion, not a hydrogen explosion as widely reported in the media.
Busby said the explosion at Chernobyl in 1986 was also a nuclear explosion. The Chernobyl nuclear accident dispersed large quantities of radioactive fuel and core materials into the atmosphere. Busby told RT the crisis at Fukushima is far worse than Chernobyl. He said the explosion did not originate in the reactor core, but the tanks where spent plutonium MOX fuel rods are stored. MOX fuel contains plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. The explosion vaporized the plutonium rods and ejected a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere. Takeshi Tokuda, a member of the Lower House of the Japanese Diet, also believes the first explosion at Fukushima was nuclear. Tokuda talked with a doctor Oikawa of the Minami Soma City General Hospital. Oikawa told the government representative that materials ejected from the plant after the explosion registered high radiation levels. “When the hospital checked the radiation level on the people who escaped from around the nuke plant after the explosion, there were more than 10 people whose radiation level exceeded 100,000 cpm [counts per minute], beyond what could be measured by the geiger counter the hospital had,” Tokuda wrote. “100,000 cpm is the new level that the Japanese government set that requires decontamination. Before the Fukushima accident, the level was 6,000 cpm.” The EPA has attempted to downplay the fact that plutonium is now bombarding the United States and much of the Northern Hemisphere. According to Lucas Hixton Whitefield, an EPA RADNet report shows increased levels of plutonium in the atmosphere. Whitefield found information on the plutonium in a RADnet dataset.
Corbett: Govt grip on Fukushima info repeats Chernobyl mistakes
As world marks Chernobyl’s anniversary, there are questions over whether the world has learned the lessons on nuclear safety that the tragedy provided. Journalist James Corbett who’s in Osaka in Japan, says the handling of the crisis at Fukushima power plant is repeating the 25-year-old mistakes.RT
April 26, 2011 As world marks Chernobyl’s anniversary, there are questions over whether the world has learned the lessons on nuclear safety that the tragedy provided. Journalist James Corbett who’s in Osaka in Japan, says the handling of the crisis at Fukushima power plant is repeating the 25-year-old mistakes.
A consortium of Ukrainian and international scientists is making an urgent call for a $13.5m (£8.28m) programme to prevent potentially catastrophic wildfires inside the exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl’s ruined nuclear power plant.
Patrick Evans
London Guardian
April 26, 2011 A consortium of Ukrainian and international scientists is making an urgent call for a $13.5m (£8.28m) programme to prevent potentially catastrophic wildfires inside the exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl’s ruined nuclear power plant.The fear is that fires in the zone could release clouds of radioactive particles that are, at the moment, locked up in trees, held mainly in the needles and bark of Scots pines. The consortium says an automated fire detection and monitoring system and new firefighting and forestry equipment are needed to guarantee safe management of Chernobyl’s forests. Since 1992, six years after the nuclear accident at the Ukrainian power plant which released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, there have been more than 1,000 wildfires inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ), the 18-mile radius ring around the plant where access restrictions apply. Full article here
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| Why are our and japans government not coming clean - Monday, April 25, 2011
The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is carefully monitoring the situation at the Number 4 spent fuel pool, where the water temperature is rising despite increased injections of cooling water.George Washington’s Blog
Monday, April 25, 2011 NHK reports: The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is carefully monitoring the situation at the Number 4 spent fuel pool, where the water temperature is rising despite increased injections of cooling water. Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says it will inject 210 tons of water into the pool on Monday, after finding on Sunday evening that the temperature in the pool had risen to 81 degrees Celsius. *** On Friday, TEPCO found that the pool’s temperature had reached 91 degrees, so it began injecting 2 to 3 times the amount of water. *** The Number 4 spent fuel pool stores 1,535 fuel rods, the most at the nuclear complex.
(Bear in mind that the amount of radioactive fuel at Fukushima dwarfs Chernobyl.) As I noted on April 2nd: Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen notes that the spent fuel rods in reactor number 4 have no water, and the rods are exposed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6DZQzY_k2c&feature=player_embedded
In addition, the official Japanese atomic energy website shows 4,250 sieverts/hour of radiation inside the containment vessel at reactor 4 (“S/C” stands for suppression chamber): 
These are very high levels of radiation. As I noted on April 10: Radiation levels were apparently about 300 sieverts per hour … right after Chernobyl exploded.
To be clear, the Chernobyl figure is radiation released into the environment, while the reactor 4 figure is radiation within the containment vessel. I have seen no evidence to date that reactor 4 is leaking. This is especially odd given that reactor 4 was supposedly shut down prior to the earthquake for maintenance. In other words, reactor 4 was – according to official reports – shut down, and shouldn’t have very much radiation at all. Something doesn’t add up. In contrast, the radiation inside the cores of the other reactors are much lower: Indeed, the Japanese nuclear agency prominently displays the radiation data for all of the reactors except number 4 on it’s main page. Number 4 is conspicuously absent, and you have to type in the url for the correct web page to find it. The building housing reactor 4 doesn’t seem to be quite as badly damaged as those housing other reactors: 
However, a Fukushima engineer says he helped cover up a cracked containment vessel at reactor number 4 for decades. On the other hand, the fact that no radiation is being reported in the drywell of reactor 4 (noted by “D/W” in the nuclear agency’s tables) – while there it is for several of the other reactors – might imply that the containment vessel has maintained its stability. At this point, I don’t have enough information to determine why the radiation levels inside reactor 4 are so high compared to the other reactors, let alone what it means. It might mean that reactor 4 is in trouble. On the other hand, it could mean that reactor number 4 is the only reactor which still has core integrity. In other words, maybe the other reactor cores have much lower radioactive levels because most of the radiation has already leaked out.
As world marks the Chernobyl anniversary, many say that the world has failed to learn the lessons on nuclear safety that the tragedy provided. RT talks to Professor Christopher Busby, Scientific secretary of the European Committee on radiation risks, for a little more insight on 21st century’s most serious nuclear crisis at Fukushima.
As world marks the Chernobyl anniversary, many say that the world has failed to learn the lessons on nuclear safety that the tragedy provided. RT talks to Professor Christopher Busby, Scientific secretary of the European Committee on radiation risks, for a little more insight on 21st century’s most serious nuclear crisis at Fukushima.
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| Radiation Expert: “Sr-90 and Uranium and Particulates Building Up in the USA and Europe - Monday, April 25, 2011 |
| Helen Caldicott Talks About the Horror of Fukushima - Saturday, April 23, 2011Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate Helen Caldicott talks about the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe and what we can expect. It ain’t pretty.
The Japanese government has announced the official expansion of the evacuation zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to selected areas beyond the existing 20-kilometer radius. Residents of the new areas are being asked to evacuate by the end of May.
NHK World News
April 23, 2011 The Japanese government has announced the official expansion of the evacuation zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to selected areas beyond the existing 20-kilometer radius. Residents of the new areas are being asked to evacuate by the end of May. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Friday that the government made the designation since residents there could be exposed to cumulative radiation levels of 20 millisieverts or more per year if they stay. The 5 new municipalities are located to the northwest of the plant and are more than 20 kilometers from it. Edano said that due to the possible impact on residents’ heath, the government is now urging them to evacuate within about a month. Friday’s announcement followed the establishment at midnight Thursday of a no-entry zone within a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Edano also designated parts of areas within 20 to 30 kilometers of the plant as areas in which residents should remain indoors or be prepared to evacuate at any time in case of an emergency. With this designation, the government lifted an earlier instruction to stay indoors for people in the 20- to 30-kilometer zone. |
| more news on japans crisis in nuke power - Friday, April 22, 2011
Radioactive iodine found in breast milk of Japanese mothers - Telegraph | The breast milk of four Japanese mothers has been found to contain small quantities of radioactive iodine.
Fukushima Radiation Exposure Much Higher Than Mainstream Media Admits - While Americans are busy focusing on the most ridiculous forms of entertainment such as Dancing With The Stars, American Idol, and whatever mindless reality show currently keeps them glued to their couches, the entire country is in the process of being covered with a cloud of toxic radiation seeping into their food, water, skin, and lungs.
Censorship of the truth about what is really going on at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility has been taken to a whole new level of corruption. |
| Why Nuclear power should never be used - Thursday, April 21, 2011Fukushima evacuees face arrest if they return home - Tens of thousands of people who were evacuated from near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant risk arrest if they return home, after the government declared the area a no-entry zone due to high radiation levels.
Justin McCurry
London Guardian
April 21, 2011 Tens of thousands of people who were evacuated from near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant risk arrest if they return home, after the government declared the area a no-entry zone due to high radiation levels. Under the order, which goes into effect at midnight local time, people living within a 12-mile (20km) radius of the atomic plant will be given up to two hours to enter the area to collect belongings. The move came amid concern over the long-term health risks posed by high levels of accumulated radiation, despite signs of progress in bringing the stricken facility under control. The 245 workers currently battling stabilise Fukushima have fallen ill due to the harsh conditions inside the plant, experts warned. Full article here
Japanese Government Looks at Tax Hikes to Pay for Nuclear Disaster - Msnbc.com | Japanese consumers would be on the hook for nuclear damage payments and earthquake reconstruction costs.
Msnbc.com
April 20, 2011 Japanese consumers would be on the hook for nuclear damage payments and earthquake reconstruction costs under two tax plans the government is considering, officials said Tuesday. The Kyodo News agency said one plan would raise electricity customers’ charges to help cover claims against Tokyo Electric Power Co. from people who suffer losses from the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The increase would come in the form of a higher electricity source-development tax, which is collected from customers as part of their electricity bills. TEPCO must pay people forced to evacuate from the region surrounding the nuclear plant, but officials said the power company may not be able to pay all the claims. Read entire article
US tornadoes force shutdown of two nuclear reactors in Virginia - Guardian | Series of storms that hit states from Oklahoma to North Carolina left at least 45 people dead and caused widespread damage.
Ewen MacAskill
The Guardian
April 20, 2011 A US nuclear power company has disclosed that one of the tornadoes that hit the US at the weekend, killing at least 45 people and causing widespread damage, forced the shutdown of two of its reactors. The series of tornadoes that began in Oklahoma late last week barrelled across the country, with North Carolina, where 22 people died, the worst-hit state. The US nuclear safety regulator said on Mondayit was monitoring the Surry nuclear power plant in Virginia. Dominion Virginia Power said the two reactors shut down automatically when a tornado cut off power to the plant. A backup diesel generator kicked in to cool the fuel. The regulator said no radiation was released and staff were working to restore electricity to the plant. Read entire article |
| Cesium-137 threat, Corporate Media muteness, and Governments and radiation is safe propaganda - Wednesday, April 20, 2011Cesium 137 Fallout - Here is EURAD’s (Rhenish Institute) illustration of up-to-date dispersion of CS-137 from Fukushima.
Washington’s Blog
April 20, 2011 Here is EURAD‘s (Rhenish Institute) illustration of up-to-date dispersion of CS-137 from Fukushima: 
Bookmark the page to check on current conditions.
Cesium 137 Threat Grows While Corporate Media Remains Mute - Kurt Nimmo | EPA considers radioactivity in cigarette smoke more of a threat.The hereditary communist dictatorship in North Korea reports on the spread of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant, but it has all but fallen off the corporate media radar screen here. Monitoring stations across North Korea from April 11 to 17 detected iodine-131 and cesium-137 in the air above Wonsan in the southeast and Chongjin in the southeast, according to the country’s state-run media.
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
April 20, 2011 The hereditary communist dictatorship in North Korea reports on the spread of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant, but it has all but fallen off the corporate media radar screen here. Monitoring stations across North Korea from April 11 to 17 detected iodine-131 and cesium-137 in the air above Wonsan in the southeast and Chongjin in the southeast, according to the country’s state-run media. Here is a recent map showing the spread of cesium-137. Note the increased concentration over the United States.
Cesium-137 has been detected in drinking water and milk here in the United States. Cesium and Tellurium were found in Boise, Las Vegas, Nome and Dutch Harbor, Honolulu, Kauai and Oahu, Anaheim, Riverside, San Francisco, and San Bernardino, Jacksonville and Orlando, Salt Lake City, Guam, and Saipan while Uranium-234, with a half-life of 245,500 years has been found in Hawaii, California, and Washington. The EPA ha radiation monitoring sites situated artound the country. Radioactive isotopes spread through the atmosphere accumulate in milk after they fall to earth in rain or dust and settle on vegetation, where they are ingested by grazing cattle. Iodine-131 is known to accumulate in the thyroid gland, where it can cause cancer and other thyroid diseases. Cesium-137 accumulates in the body’s soft tissues and bone marrow where it increases risk of cancer. While the North Koreans warn about the spread of radiation, the corporate media in the West is downplaying and basically ignoring the threat. On the one hand, the EPA tells us cesium-137 is appearing in milk and water around the country, while on the other telling us not to worry. The EPA said in March that “while they were above the historical and background norm, the levels weren’t considered harmful to human health.” The agency sounds the alarm about radioactivity in cigarette smoke while minimizing the risk from an out of control nuclear plant that continues to spew radioactivity. Something is seriously amiss when the most repressive dictatorship in the world reports on the danger of radioactivity while a supposedly free media and government agencies in the U.S. downplay the threat.
Washington’s Blog
April 20, 2011 The FDA says it won’t monitor radiation in fish on the West Coast of the U.S. As the Anchorage Daily News notes: North Pacific fish are so unlikely to be contaminated by radioactive material from the crippled nuclear plant in Japan that there’s no reason to test them, state and federal officials said this week. *** DeLancey, the FDA spokeswoman, said “We have not been doing any testing. We’ve been working with NOAA to keep an eye on U.S. waters, to see if there is any cause for alarm, and we do have the capability to begin testing if that does occur.” Asked to explain what kind of monitoring was taking place in the ocean, DeLancey said, “You would have to talk directly to NOAA … I don’t really want to speak for another agency.” But NOAA fisheries spokeswoman Kate Naughton declined to answer questions and referred a reporter back to DeLancey and the EPA. DeLancey said that so far, there’s no reason for concern about Fukushima. The radioactive materials in the water near Fukushima quickly become diluted in the massive volume of the Pacific, she said. Additionally, radioactive fallout that lands on the surface tends to stay there, giving the most unstable ones isotopes like iodine time to decay before reaching fish, she said.
Of course, radioactive isotopes like cesium 137 are very long-lived, and so won’t necessarily decay before they reach fish. And – in typical Orwellian agency-speak – the FDA is trying to reassure people that eating contaminated fish poses no health risk. As the Wall Street Journal notes: U.S. public-health officials sought Tuesday to reassure consumers about the safety of food in the U.S., including seafood, amid news that fish contaminated with unusually high levels of radioactive materials had been caught in waters 50 miles from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan. No contaminated fish have turned up in the U.S., or in U.S. waters, according to experts from the Food and Drug Administration [which isn't testing], Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They expressed confidence that even a single fish sufficiently contaminated to pose a risk to human health would be detected by the U.S. monitoring system. [But would the government announce such detection?] They also dismissed concerns that eating fish contaminated at the levels seen so far in Japan would pose such a risk. [Alexander Higgins points out that Japanese fish exceed federal radiation limits by 2400%] Thomas Frieden, head of the CDC in Atlanta, said he expected continued detection of low levels of radioactive elements in the water, air and food in the U.S. in coming days, but that readings at those levels “do not indicate any level of public health concern.”
Is this yet another example of the government responding to the nuclear accident by trying to raise acceptable radiation levels and pretending that radiation is good for us? Indeed, the ocean currents head from Japan to the West Coast of the U.S. As AP notes: The floating debris will likely be carried by currents off of Japan toward Washington, Oregon and California before turning toward Hawaii and back again toward Asia, circulating in what is known as the North Pacific gyre, said Curt Ebbesmeyer, a Seattle oceanographer who has spent decades tracking flotsam. ***
“All this debris will find a way to reach the West coast or stop in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” a swirling mass of concentrated marine litter in the Pacific Ocean, said Luca Centurioni, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. Here is what the North Pacific Gyre looks like: 
NPR reports: CNN said that “the Hawaiian islands may get a new and unwelcome addition in coming months — a giant new island of debris floating in from Japan.” It relied in part on work done by the University of Hawaii’s International Pacific Research Center, which predicts that: “In three years, the [debris] plume will reach the U.S. West Coast, dumping debris on Californian beaches and the beaches of British Columbia, Alaska, and Baja California. The debris will then drift into the famous North Pacific Garbage Patch, where it will wander around and break into smaller and smaller pieces. In five years, Hawaii shores can expect to see another barrage of debris that is stronger and longer lastingthan the first one. Much of the debris leaving the North Pacific Garbage Patch ends up on Hawaii’s reefs and beaches.”
The research center has an animated graphic showing the debris field’s likely route posted online here. And it has images of how the debris field will circulate, from this month (in upper left corner) to March 2016 (lower right). 
University of Hawaii’s International Pacific Research CenterThe projected path of the debris field, from March of this year (in upper left), through March 2016 (lower right). That’s the Pacific Ocean, with Japan to the left and the west coast of the U.S. to the right. Hawaii is the small chain of islands in the center.
Indeed, CNN notes: The debris mass, which appears as an island from the air, contains cars, trucks, tractors, boats and entire houses floating in the current heading toward the U.S. and Canada, according to ABC News.
The bulk of the debris will likely not be radioactive, as it was presumably washed out to sea during the initial tsunami – before much radioactivity had leaked. But this shows the power of the currents from Japan to the West Coast. Of course, fish don’t necessarily stay still, either. For example, the Telegraph notes that scientists tagged a bluefin tuna and found that it crossed between Japan and the West Coast three times in 600 days: That might be extreme, but the point is that fish exposed to radiation somewhere out in the ocean might end up in U.S. waters. Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen doesn’t think there will be a risk within the next year. But as the plume spreads across the Pacific, and as small fish get eaten by bigger fish (i.e. bioaccumulation), it would be prudent to measure radiation in fish caught off the West Coast of the U.S. (and Hawaii), and Gundersen suggests we contact our representatives and demand measurement: Gundersen Discusses Current Condition of Reactors, TEPCO Claim of “No Fission” in Fuel Pool, and Lack of Radiation Monitoring in from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.
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| The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: What Happened on “Day One”? - Monday, April 18, 2011On the first day of the Fukushima disaster, Tepco reported that reactors 1, 2 and 6 were operating at the time of the quake and tsunami, and that the other 3 reactors were empty of fuel rods for periodic maintenance. 1, 2 and 6 were designed by GE, old model Mark-1. Yoichi Shimatsu
Global Research
April 18, 2011 On the first day of the Fukushima disaster, Tepco reported that reactors 1, 2 and 6 were operating at the time of the quake and tsunami, and that the other 3 reactors were empty of fuel rods for periodic maintenance. 1, 2 and 6 were designed by GE, old model Mark-1. Then reactor 3 blows and burns, and without any correction to the first report, Tepco then says 1, 2 and 3 were operating and the others were down. No. 3, which is run on plutonium-uranium MOX fuel, was built by Toshiba. (no. 5 is also a Toshiba) Toshiba has an international partnership with Westinghouse to build nuclear plants. The leak from No.3 accounted then for the reports of leaked plutonium. Then reactor 4 building catches on fire, due to a dry cooling pool for spent rods. No..4 is built by Hitachi, which has a partnership with GE to build nuclear plants and also currently develop a laser (plasma) separation process for plutonium extraction. The fire is so extreme (for depleted uranium) that the reactor is damaged. This suggests that reactor 4 was also internally damaged, meaning that it was operating at time of the tsunami, in an unscheduled run for either of two purposes: offline electrical generation for some reason inside Fukushima 1; or for a controlled reaction aimed at reprocessing (neutron enrichment) of spent fuel rods to increase their fissile uranium content (prior to extraction). Next, reactors 4 and 5 are found to be generating hydrogen gas. H gas is produced when the fission process, which releases electrons as well as neutrons, splits water molecules, H20, into hydrogen, supercharged oxygen and some hydroxyl radicals. The presence of a gas build-up indicates that these two reactors contain fuel rods, contrary to Tepco claims. This means reactors 4 and 5 had recently conducted runs or were being prepared for operations of an undetermined (and unreported) nature. The other technical mystery is that Tepco engineers suggested that the electric power inside the plant was knocked out by something other than the tsunami. I have pointed to this possibility early on, that the quake and control disruptions could have made the control computers vulnerable to the Stuxnet virus. The other possibility to consider is that a high-power electromagnetic event (for example a sudden energy burst from the released of ionized gases from the de-magnetized laser-plasma process) could have knocked out all electrical systems, similar to how a neutron bomb would incapacitate power system. Very little of this information was recorded in newspaper reports, but came as nearly inadvertent admissions during the minute-by-minute televised coverage of the disaster by NHK. The other major mystery is the one-minute blackout of NHK World News at the mention of the fire and plant shutdown at the Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi Prefecture. read more ... |
| Fukushima plant jump 6,500 times above legal limit - Sunday, April 17, 2011Radiation levels in seawater at crippled Fukushima plant jump 6,500 times above legal limit ahead of new 5.9 earthquake - Radiation levels have risen dramatically in seawater near the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, sparking fears of a new leak, according to the country’s government.
UK Daily Mail
April 17, 2011 Radiation levels have risen dramatically in seawater near the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, sparking fears of a new leak, according to the country’s government. The announcement came ahead of a fresh 5.9-magnitude earthquake that hit the Kanto region, in the eastern part of the country on Saturday morning. Ironically the new quake hit hours after the country’s nuclear safety agency ordered plant operators to beef up their quake alert systems to prevent a recurrence of the previous nuclear crisis. There were no reports of damage from the earthquake, and there was no risk of a tsunami similar to the one that struck the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. Since the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 knocked out the nuclear plant’s cooling systems, workers have been spraying massive amounts of water on the overheated reactors. Full article here
The Japanese operator of a stricken nuclear plant said Saturday it has started dumping a mineral into the sea that absorbs radioactive substances, aiming to slow down contamination of the ocean.
AFP
April 17, 2011 The Japanese operator of a stricken nuclear plant said Saturday it has started dumping a mineral into the sea that absorbs radioactive substances, aiming to slow down contamination of the ocean. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said it had begun dropping zeolite near a water outlet from the FukushimaDaiichi plant – which has been leaking radiation since it was crippled by a March 11 quake and tsunami — from Friday. The mineral has wide-ranging industrial applications, including nuclear waste processing. Officials hope it will help to reduce the spread of radioactive materials from the plant into the Pacific, though the effectiveness of the measure was not yet clear. Full article here
Spike in iodine levels may signal new leak - The government on Saturday said that levels of radioactivity in seawater near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant had risen significantly in recent days, according to samples taken Friday.
Japan Times
April 17, 2011 The government on Saturday said that levels of radioactivity in seawater near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant had risen significantly in recent days, according to samples taken Friday. Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the level of radioactive iodine-131 spiked to 6,500 times the legal limit, up from 1,100 times over the limit the day before. Levels of cesium-134 and cesium-137 rose nearly fourfold. The rise could have been caused by the installation Thursday of steel panels intended to contain the radiation, which may have stirred up stagnant waste in the area, Nishiyama said, adding the increase in iodine, which has a relatively short eight-day half-life, could signal a possible new leak. “We want to determine the origin and contain the leak, but I must admit that tracking it down is difficult,” he said. Full article here |
| The Klling Machines of Japan, The Nuclear deathtrap.. - Saturday, April 16, 2011Groups, individuals petition NRC to suspend all nuclear reactor licensing after Fukushima - Jonathan Benson | The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has sparked an uprising against nuclear energy production.
Jonathan Benson
Natural News
April 16, 2011 The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has sparked an uprising against nuclear energy production due to concerns about its safety. Recently, 45 groups and individuals from across the US banded together to ask that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) cease all licensing for 21 pending nuclear reactor projects in 15 US states, and establish an independent commission to conduct an updated safety analysis of nuclear energy production in light of the ongoing meltdown taking place in Japan. The groups, which include Beyond Nuclear; the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL); Citizens Allied for Safe Energy; and the Nuclear Information and Resource Center, say that it is an obligation for NRC to properly consider the lessons being learned from Fukushima before permitting any further nuclear energy development in the US. “NRC violated the law by re-licensing the Vermont Yankee reactor at the same time it launched an investigation into whether US safety and environmental standards are strong enough in light of the Fukushima accident,” said Diane Curran, an attorney for the petitioners, from Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP. “The National Environmental Policy Act requires the NRC to learn and apply the lessons of Fukushima before it allows another reactor to operate. By establishing a Task Force and ordering the investigation of the regulatory implications of the Fukushima accident for US reactors, the NRC has obligated itself to consider those implications in all prospective licensing decisions.” Just days after the Japan earthquake and tsunami ravaged the Fukushima plant, the NRC extended the license for the Vermont Yankee reactor owned by General Electric (GE), despite the fact that the plant has had radioactive tritium leaks, a cooling tower collapse, and other serious problems, according to a 2010 New York Times report. Petitioners say it is only reasonable for the NRC to take a serious step back and reevaluate how the events of Fukushima relate to US nuclear facilities, some of which are in worse shape than Fukushima was before the disaster. If such a disaster were ever to hit US soil, the consequences could be even more devastating than Fukushima.
Fukushima Exposure Levels Going Up Everywhere - Mark Sircus | “Radiation is continuing to leak out of the reactors, the situation is not stable at all, radiation continues to leak,” says Dr. Michio Kaku. the situation is not stable at all, radiation continues to leak,” says Dr. Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York and top graduate of Harvard.
Mark Sircus
Infowars.com
April 16, 2011 “Radiation is continuing to leak out of the reactors, the situation is not stable at all, radiation continues to leak,” says Dr. Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York and top graduate of Harvard. “We are looking at a ticking timebomb. It appears stable but the slightest disturbance, a secondary earthquake, a pipe break, evacuation of the crew at Fukishima could set off a full scale melt down at three nuclear power stations–far beyond what we saw at Chernobyl.” Aftershocks rattling Japan after the nation’s record quake on March 11 may continue for at least six months, increasing the risk of damage to a crippled nuclear plant at the center of the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. “Aftershocks as big as magnitude-7 are likely to continue hitting in eastern and northern Japan for at least six months,” said Teruyuki Kato, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Earthquake Research Institute. This is the main scientist to listen to and it’s worthwhile to watch his most recent statements on the video. Radioactive contamination from the Fukushima power plant has been carried around the world and far out to sea and if current estimates and the situation do not worsen we already will have 10 percent of Chernobyl’s radiation spreading around the globe and it looks like each and every month we will see another 10 percent of another Chernobyl’s worth of radiation released to contaminate the world further. Dr. Kaku says his family is already leaving Tokyo because they don’t believe the statements of the Japanese utility because they have consistently low-balled the dangers, as has everyone else.
Dr. Chris Busby, another physicist says there is a rage in the people in Tokyo and he now predicts based on his calculations that 800,000 people out of about 8 million who live within 200 kilomters of the plant will contract cancer if they are not moved out. Dr. Kaku still advises entombment in a giant slab of concrete, with 5000 tons of cement, sand and boric acid but if that ever happens it will be months away and take a huge effort that would take many more months. Dr. Kaku says that the, “Tepco utility people are outclassed and overwhelmed and should be removed from their positions. They are “making it up as they go along,” he says of the efforts of engineers to get this disaster under some control” He too says, “We would see increases in leukemias and thyroid cancers from the massive amounts of radioactive iodine being released.” The operator of Japan’s tsunami-flooded nuclear power complex was seeking ways Thursday to pull damaged spent fuel rods out of a storage pool at one of its reactors, citing surging radiation and elevated temperatures as worrisome signs. These two physicists are the men to monitor if you want a real assesment of the level seven nuclear disaster. With each passing week the words “safe”, “low levels”, “not harmful” will all lose their meaning as the more massive amounts of radiation are released. Six months from now it will be a different world with several open fission processes happening in multiple reactors. “This accident has already released something on the order of 50,000 trillion becquerels of radiation. You do the math. That puts it right smack in the middle of a level 7 nuclear accident,” said Kaku. NISA and Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) estimate that 370,000 – 630,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials have been released from Units 1, 2 and 3. One terabecquerel equals one trillion becquerels. Br. Busby, who is Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, calculated two weeks ago radiation levels two weeks ago. “Since the official International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) figures for the Fukushima contamination are from 200 to 900kBq.sq meter out to 78km from the site, we can expect between 22% and 90% increases in cancer in people living in these places in the next 10 years. The UN definition of radioactively contaminated land is 37kBq/sq metre. Since the IAEA data show that these levels of contamination, from 200,000 to 900,000 disintegrations per second per square meter, exist up to 78km from Fukushima, we can already calculate that the contamination is actually worse than Chernobyl, not 1% of Chernobyl. For the area defined by a 78km radius is 19113 sq km compared to the Chernobyl exclusion zone of 2827 sq km. About seven times greater.” In the next month we will see a repeat or perhaps an intensification of the radiation being put out into the environment—as the melting nuclear materials continue to break through barriers. Radiation emitted will continue for an indeterminate period – at least months, maybe years—many many years. Raw fission in the open environment is a possibility that humanity is going to have to learn how to live with. If the worst case happens—as is happening—then it will be open hunting season on everyone in the nuclear power industry as well as on politicians who have allowed them to be swayed, pressured or bribed to swear to the safety of nuclear insanity. This could be the fire pit of hell brought to earth that will finally expose the toxic monsters of the modern world for who and what they are. Making money as they have done and continue to do through the massive use of poisonous substances, nuclear or chemical, they have compromised their souls and their right to exist among more sensitive compassionate beings. There is nothing more urgent in the field of medicine then us getting a handle on the best ways to eliminate heavy metals, radiation contamination and other toxic poisons from the body. The most obvious way of course is to reduce exposure. Sometimes to avoid toxic exposure we have to move out of a moldy house, out of a city heavily laden with air pollution or even out of a country if one plans on living a long and healthy life. If humans keep up with their intense poisoning of this planet it might mean going off the planet or burrowing deep into the ground. Avoiding exposure is not always possible when it
comes to nuclear radiation, mercury and microwaves. The Japanese government is making a fatal mistake leaving millions of citizens too close to the exposure of the badly leaking atomic plant. Their direction to just stay indoors is not an effective and certainly not a permanent way to avoid exposure. It is understandable why they would resist removing millions from their homes but in this case it is the only way to avoid exposure and resultant radiation sickness. How secure should we feel about the evolving situation? Dr. Kaku couldn’t make it any more frank when he said, “Fukushima is about as stable as “hanging by your fingernails off a cliff, and they’re beginning to break one by one.”
Radioactive Iodine -131
China’s Ministry of Health said today April 13, that radioactive isotope iodine-131 had been detected in various kinds of vegetables in 12 provincial regions. The radioactive isotope was found in spinach, asparagus, lettuce, cabbage, Chinese cabbage and other vegetables in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, according to a statement from the ministry. The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination in Europe are no longer “negligible,” according to CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and infants against “risky behavior,” such as consuming fresh milk or vegetables with large leaves. In response to thousands of inquiries from citizens concerned about fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Europe, CRIIRAD has compiled an information package on the risks of radioactive iodine-131 contamination in Europe. fter the radioactive cloud emanating from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant reached Europe in late March, CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity, an NGO, said it had detected radioactive iodine-131 in rainwater in south-eastern France. In parallel testing, the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), the national public institution monitoring nuclear and radiological risks, found iodine 131 in milk. In normal times, no trace of iodine-131 should be detectable in rainwater or milk. Radiation monitors in Canada, in Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia have also detected radioactive iodine. In the United States EPA data show rising levels of Iodine-131, Cesium-134, and Cesium-137 up to 300% of maximum limits. Hawaii milk samples showed radiation 800% above normal for Cesium-134, 633% for Cesium-137, and 600% for Iodine-131. Water contamination measured over 20 times acceptable levels. Mainland amounts are also rising, including in air, soil, grass, milk, spinach, strawberries, and other foods. Milk is especially important as it suggests the health of the entire food supply because cows eat grass. When grass is contaminated, so is everything grown in the same soil. At least 14 US cities reported unsafe radiation amounts in drinking water. However, EPA is only testing for Iodine-131, not Cesium, Uranium or Plutonium, all emitted from Fukushima. Several radiation monitoring stations throughout Spain have recorded increases in the concentration of iodine and cesium in the air coming from Japan. Same goes for France. One does not want to wait for the medical authorities on the iodine issue. One has to act quickly to protect their thyroid and the thyroids especially of children. A major cloud of radioactive Iodine 131 has recently passed over South Korea and is now passing just about everywhere else in the northern hemisphere. Medical and health authorities, it seems, want all pregnant women, babies and children to be unduly exposed to radioactive iodine just because of their phobia and medical conditioning against nutritional iodine supplementation. The entire contemporary medical establishment is abandoning its fundamental mission and pledge to protect the public and their patients against harm when medically possible. We have lots of information from Russia about the use of iodine to protect the thyroid. In Poland the use of iodine dosages was found to highly protect children’s thyroids from cancer. The risk for cancer of the thyroid is much greater in children requiring much lower exposure to I-131 than it does for adults. Same goes for pregnant women or lactating women.
It is a good time to remember Dr. Jeff Patterson’s words, former president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period! Exposure to radionuclides, such as Iodine-131 and Cesium-137, increases the risk of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.” Personal Note: In the next 48 hours I will submit to my staff a 2nd edition of my iodine book, which will be strongly oriented to the entire issue of iodine as an essential nutrient to protect from radioactive iodine contamination of the thyroid and other glands that have a large uptake of iodine under normal conditions. The situation is guaranteed to get worse so do not wait for the medical authorities on the iodine issue. For parents waiting means vastly increasing the chance of watching your children die of thyroid cancer! Do I need to say that any stronger? It is not a good time to be caught like deer in the headlights nor have our heads stuck in the sand about iodine or anything else that affects our survival. The essential action is to get iodine into our bodies and it does not have to be “potassium iodide.” It can also be in the form of Nascent Iodine, which is a 2% formulation based on and old Edgar Casey type that breaks molecular iodine into its I¹ atomic structure. It is the iodine I personally use for myself and my children and is ideal for iodine sensitive people with pre-existing thyroid conditions meaning it is the easiest iodine to administer, though not the cheapest to use. There are other forms in both tablet and liquid, even the ones that can be used topically are effective in reducing people’s vulnerability to radioactive iodine. (Do NOT drink topical antiseptic iodine products such as Betadine — these products are not suitable for human consumption. They are povidone-iodine mixtures.) I have to be honest and tell you it’s a great time to be living in the southern hemisphere. The radiation levels down here will be much delayed and much reduced and the deep valley where my Sanctuary is being finished feels very protective because it is ringed with mountains. I just spent the first few nights at my Sanctuary center deep in the interior of Brazil and the construction men are still running all over the place. I can’t wait to open Sanctuary to the world but am not so sure there will be much of a world on its feet in just a few months’ time as the financial world careens out of control. I listened to an excellent video last night that predicts that when the next earnings reports of major corporations come out in July it will be curtains for the stock markets as the nuclear disaster is taking the real economy, and thus earnings, down like a rock. It was such a pleasure to feel the magic of being surrounded by Nature, hearing the rivers flowing around Sanctuary. No Internet, so great to be away from all the bad news and able to concentrate on finishing my manuscript for the Radiation Toxicity Syndrome book. It is an overwhelming challenge that is taking me, according to my assistant Claudia, too much time so I will come out first with the iodine book focused on the radioactive issue. I think it’s a great time to take a vacation from the north or at least get the women and children out of harm’s way. It’s simply not a good time to be gambling with the safety of our loved ones—with the possibility of a greater explosion at the Japanese nuclear power station with a resultant massive release of radiation that travels far and wide across our planet. Men and professionals particularly have to sometimes stand their ground and even sacrifice their lives like the men are doing at the nuclear plant but we don’t have to risk our children. Many of the men in the Titanic had to encourage their women and children to get on the lifeboats without them. But in this case, if a miracle happens and there is no worse-than-imaginable-case scenario, and all-clear sirens sound, then families can be reunited. The next few weeks or months will tell us a whole lot about our futures.
The harmful affect of radiation on fetuses has been known for decades.
Washington’s Blog
April 16, 2011 Preface: I am not against all nuclear power, solely the unsafe type we have today. The harmful affect of radiation on fetuses has been known for decades. As nuclear expert Robert Alvarez – a senior U.S. Department of Energy official during the Clinton administration – and journalists Harvey Wasserman and Norman Solomon wrote in 1982 in a book called Killing Our Own: In recent years controversy has arisen over the particular vulnerability of infants in utero and small children to the ill-effects of radiation. Exposure of the fetus to radiation during all stages of pregnancy increases the chances of developing leukemia and childhood cancers. Because their cells are dividing so rapidly, and because there are relatively so few of them involved in the vital functions of the body in the early stages, embryos are most vulnerable to radiation in the first trimester–particularly in the first two weeks after conception. This period carries the highest risk of radiation-induced abortion and adverse changes in organ development. During this stage of development the tiny fetus can be fifteen times more sensitive to radiation-induced cancer than in its last trimester of development, and up to a thousand or more times more sensitive than an adult. In general it is believed that fetuses in the very early stages of development are most vulnerable to penetrating radiation such as X rays and gamma rays.
In all stages, they are vulnerable to emitting isotopes ingested by the mother. For example, if a pregnant mother inhales or ingests radioiodine, it can be carried through the placenta to the fetus, where it can lodge in the fetal thyroid and where its gamma and beta emissions can cause serious damage to the developing organ. Once the fetal thyroid is damaged, changes in the hormonal balance of the body may result in serious–possibly fatal–consequences for the development of the child through pregnancy, early childhood, and beyond. Such effects include underweight and premature birth, poorly developed lungs causing an inability to breathe upon delivery, mental retardation, and general ill-health. Other emitters can lodge in other fetal organs. For example, yttrium-90, a decay product of strontium 90, can gravitate toward the pituitary gland. Overall, fetal irradiation during the second and third trimester has been linked to microcephaly (small head size), stunted growth and mental retardation, central nervous system defects, and behavioral changes. Exposure of the fetus to radiation during all stages of pregnancy increases the chances of developing leukemia and childhood cancers. Young children also undergo more rapid cell division than adults, as do children in puberty. This rapid growth makes them very susceptible to radiation damage. Also at high risk are the elderly and chronically ill. These groups have weakened immune systems because of less active red bone marrow. Healthy immune systems can often isolate and remove damaged cells before malignancies develop. Older people generally have less vigorous immune systems; they have also generally experienced more radiation from both natural and human-made sources than young people, and thus may be more susceptible to additional exposure. Women are also considered to be twice as sensitive to radiation as men because of their predominance in contracting breast and thyroid cancers.[However, radiation safety standards are set based on the assumption that everyone exposed is a healthy man in his 20s.] Cancers shown to be initiated by radiation include leukemia, and cancers of the pancreas, lung, large intestine, thyroid, liver, and breast. Life-shortening anemia and other blood abnormalities, benign tumors, cataracts, and lowered fertility are other random effects attributed to radiation exposure. I noted in 2009: An entire field of science called “epigenetics”, which studies changes in phenotype (appearance) or gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence.
Epigeneticists say that genetic changes can be caused by interaction with the environment may last for multiple generations.
Brian Moench, MD, noted last month: Administration spokespeople continuously claim “no threat” from the radiation reaching the US from Japan, just as they did with oil hemorrhaging into the Gulf. Perhaps we should all whistle “Don’t worry, be happy” in unison. A thorough review of the science, however, begs a second opinion. That the radiation is being released 5,000 miles away isn’t as comforting as it seems…. Every day, the jet stream carries pollution from Asian smoke stacks and dust from the Gobi Desert to our West Coast, contributing 10 to 60 percent of the total pollution breathed by Californians, depending on the time of year. Mercury is probably the second most toxic substance known after plutonium. Half the mercury in the atmosphere over the entire US originates in China. It, too, is 5,000 miles away. A week after a nuclear weapons test in China, iodine 131 could be detected in the thyroid glands of deer in Colorado, although it could not be detected in the air or in nearby vegetation.
The idea that a threshold exists or there is a safe level of radiation for human exposure began unraveling in the 1950s when research showed one pelvic x-ray in a pregnant woman could double the rate of childhood leukemia in an exposed baby. Furthermore, the risk was ten times higher if it occurred in the first three months of pregnancy than near the end. This became the stepping-stone to the understanding that the timing of exposure was even more critical than the dose. The earlier in embryonic development it occurred, the greater the risk. A new medical concept has emerged, increasingly supported by the latest research, called “fetal origins of disease,” that centers on the evidence that a multitude of chronic diseases, including cancer, often have their origins in the first few weeks after conception by environmental insults disturbing normal embryonic development. It is now established medical advice that pregnant women should avoid any exposure to x-rays, medicines or chemicals when not absolutely necessary, no matter how small the dose, especially in the first three months.
“Epigenetics” is a term integral to fetal origins of disease, referring to chemical attachments to genes that turn them on or off inappropriately and have impacts functionally similar to broken genetic bonds. Epigenetic changes can be caused by unimaginably small doses – parts per trillion – be it chemicals, air pollution, cigarette smoke or radiation. Furthermore, these epigenetic changes can occur within minutes after exposure and may be passed on to subsequent generations. The Endocrine Society, 14,000 researchers and medical specialists in more than 100 countries, warned that “even infinitesimally low levels of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, indeed, any level of exposure at all, may cause endocrine or reproductive abnormalities, particularly if exposure occurs during a critical developmental window. Surprisingly, low doses may even exert more potent effects than higher doses.” If hormone-mimicking chemicals at any level are not safe for a fetus, then the concept is likely to be equally true of the even more intensely toxic radioactive elements drifting over from Japan, some of which may also act as endocrine disruptors. Many epidemiologic studies show that extremely low doses of radiation increase the incidence of childhood cancers, low birth-weight babies, premature births, infant mortality, birth defects and even diminished intelligence. Just two abdominal x-rays delivered to a male can slightly increase the chance of his future children developing leukemia. By damaging proteins anywhere in a living cell, radiation can accelerate the aging process and diminish the function of any organ. Cells can repair themselves, but the rapidly growing cells in a fetus may divide before repair can occur, negating the body’s defense mechanism and replicating the damage. Comforting statements about the safety of low radiation are not even accurate for adults. Small increases in risk per individual have immense consequences in the aggregate. When low risk is accepted for billions of people, there will still be millions of victims. New research on risks of x-rays illustrate the point. Radiation from CT coronary scans is considered low, but, statistically, it causes cancer in one of every 270 40-year-old women who receive the scan. Twenty year olds will have double that rate. Annually, 29,000 cancers are caused by the 70 million CT scans done in the US. Common, low-dose dental x-rays more than double the rate of thyroid cancer. Those exposed to repeated dental x-rays have an even higher risk of thyroid cancer. *** Beginning with Madam Curie, the story of nuclear power is one where key players have consistently miscalculated or misrepresented the risks of radiation. The victims include many of those who worked on the original Manhattan Project, the 200,000 soldiers who were assigned to eye witness our nuclear tests, the residents of the Western US who absorbed the lion’s share of fallout from our nuclear testing in Nevada, the thousands of forgotten victims of Three Mile Island or the likely hundreds of thousands of casualties of Chernobyl. This could be the latest chapter in that long and tragic story when, once again, we were told not to worry.
And Dr. Moench writes today: The official refrain, boldly repeated, is, “Not to worry, perfectly harmless, no health threat,” even though the six Fukushima reactors contain thousands of times more radioactivity than the bomb dropped over Hiroshima. Some of our best scientists of the previous century would be rolling over in their graves. In the 1940s, many of the world’s premier nuclear scientists saw mounting evidence that there was no safe level of exposure to nuclear radiation. This led Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atom bomb, to oppose development of the hydrogen bomb.[1] In the 1950s, Linus Pauling, the only two-time winner of the Nobel Prize, began warning the public about exposure to all radiation. His opinion, ultimately shared by thousands of scientists worldwide, led President Kennedy to sign the nuclear test-ban treaty. In the 1960s, Drs. John Gofman, Arthur Tamplin, Alice Stewart, Thomas Mancuso and Karl Morgan, all researchers for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) or the Department of Energy (DOE), independently came to the conclusion that exposure to nuclear radiation was not safe at any level. The government terminated their services for coming up with what Gofman has called the “wrong answer” – that is, the opposite of what the AEC wanted to hear.[2] The top Russian nuclear physicist in the 1960s, Andrei Sakharov, also a Nobel Prize winner, and Vladimir Chernousenko, whom the Soviet Union placed in charge of the Chernobyl cleanup, are among other international experts who drew similar conclusions. To put lipstick on the pig of radioactive fallout, we hear from nuclear cheerleaders that common activities like watching TV and airline travel also expose us to radiation. True enough, although they never mention that airline pilots and flight attendants do have higher rates of breast and skin cancer.[3] But equating those very different types of radiation is like equating the damage of being hit with ping pong balls (photons) with being hit by bullets (beta particles). Your TV doesn’t shoot bullets at you. Even if your TV was only shooting a few bullets per show, you probably wouldn’t watch much TV. Furthermore, the damage done by these radioactive “bullets” can vary tremendously depending on which organs are hit. To carry the analogy one step further: spraying a few bullets into a large crowd can hardly be considered safe for everyone in the crowd, even if the ratio of bullets per person is very low. Bioaccumulation causes an increasing concentration of many contaminates as one moves up the food chain. That’s why beef is much higher in dioxins than cattle feed, tuna fish have much higher mercury than the water they swim in and fetal blood has higher mercury levels than maternal blood.[4] Radioactive iodine, cesium and strontium, all beta emitters, become concentrated in the food chain because of bioaccumulation. At the top of the food chain, of course, are humans, including fetuses and human breastmilk. In 1963, one week after an atmospheric nuclear bomb test in Russia, our scientists demonstrated the power of bioaccumulation when they detected radioactive iodine in the thyroids of mammals in North America, even though, with 1963 methods, they could not detect smaller amounts in the air or on vegetation.[5] Bioaccumulation is one reason why it is dishonest to equate the danger to humans living 5,000 miles away from Japan with the minute concentrations measured in our air. If we tried, we would now likely be able to measure radioactive iodine, cesium, and strontium bioaccumulating in human embryos in this country. Pregnant mothers, are you okay with that? Hermann Muller, another Nobel Prize winner, is one of many scientists who would not have been okay with that. In a 1964 study, “Radiation and Heredity” [6], Mueller clearly spelled out the genetic damage of ionizing radiation on humans. He predicted the gradual reduction of the survival of the human species as exposure to ionizing radiation steadily increased. Indeed, sperm counts, sperm viability and fertility rates worldwide have been dropping for decades. These scientists and their warnings have never been refuted, but they are still widely ignored.
Moreover, radiation standards are up to a 1,000 times higher than is safe for human health. And Forbes’ blogger Jeff McMahon and Truthout writer Mike Ludwig both note that FDA radiation standards for milk and other foods are 200 times higher than EPA standards for drinking water, and are based more on commercial than safety concerns. And even with unreasonably lax standards, radiation exceeding government safety levels has been found in drinking water and milk throughout the United States. See this and this.
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| Is Japan going to become a lost cause in the world - Friday, April 15, 2011Radiation Monitor in Richland Not Working Properly - Air, water, and milk, the feds are watching closely for any spikes in radiation following the nuclear fallout in Japan. KEPR uncovered a flaw in the system. The air monitoring station in Richland isn’t working properly.
Comment: This is not the only monitor that is broken or non-working, there are around 37 US Cities that have broken radiation monitors and the Feds say they are not a priority to fix. See this post at Washington’s Blog for more info -
U.S. Providing Inadequate Radiation Readings to the Public Molly Kelleher
keprtv.com
April 15, 2011 TRI-CITIES — Air, water, and milk, the feds are watching closely for any spikes in radiation following the nuclear fallout in Japan. KEPR uncovered a flaw in the system. The air monitoring station in Richland isn’t working properly. There have been no readings in our area for two weeks now. And those readings are critical to making sure our radiation levels aren’t up. When concerns about radiation popped up after the Japan disaster, Action News showed you the air monitor in Richland. It’s only one of four stations in Washington watched by the state and feds. And KEPR told you, you could track those readings online as well. But after KEPR checked back we noticed something wrong. Full article here
Japan Forces Top Official To Retract Prime Minister’s Comments That Fukushima Permanently Uninhabitable - Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has apologized to the public over media reports about the long-term inhabitability of areas around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Edano apologizes over Kan’s reported remark NHK News
April 15, 2011 Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has apologized to the public over media reports about the long-term inhabitability of areas around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. An adviser to the Cabinet, Kenichi Matsumoto, at first told reporters on Wednesday that the Prime Minister remarked that areas around the nuclear plant will be inhabitable over a long period. He later retracted his comment and the Prime Minister himself also denied making such a statement. But the reports have angered local leaders, including the Fukushima governor. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Edano reiterated that Kan never made such remarks. But Edano said it is regrettable that the reports have caused concern to residents who have evacuated from around the plant.
Groundwater radiation level at nuke plant rises: TEPCO - The concentration levels of radioactive iodine and cesium in groundwater near the troubled Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have increased up to several dozen times in one week, suggesting that toxic water has seeped from nearby reactor turbine buildings or elsewhere, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday.
Kyodo
April 15, 2011 The concentration levels of radioactive iodine and cesium in groundwater near the troubled Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have increased up to several dozen times in one week, suggesting that toxic water has seeped from nearby reactor turbine buildings or elsewhere, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday. The announcement came as the plant operator continued to grapple with pools of highly radioactive water found on the plant’s premises, with the level of polluted water filling an underground trench edging up again after the company finished pumping out around 660 tons of water. According to the latest findings, a groundwater sample taken April 6 near the No. 1 reactor turbine building showed radioactive iodine-131 of 72 becquerels per cubic meter, with the concentration level growing to 400 becquerels as of Wednesday. The concentration level of cesium-134 increased from 1.4 becquerels to 53 becquerels. The government’s nuclear regulatory agency said it had ordered the utility firm known as TEPCO to enhance monitoring of groundwater inside the plant, which is located on the Pacific coast. A total of around 60,000 tons of contaminated water is believed to be flooding the basements of the Nos. 1 to 3 reactor turbine buildings as well as trenches connected to them, and the water is hampering work to restore the cooling functions of the reactors lost since the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami. The pools of contaminated water are believed to be a side effect of TEPCO’s emergency efforts to continue injecting water into the reactors and their spent nuclear fuel pools from outside to cool them down. TEPCO pumped out around 660 tons of highly radioactive water Tuesday and Wednesday from one of the trenches to a ”condenser” inside the nearby No. 2 reactor turbine building, where during normal operation steam from the reactor is converted into water. But the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the water level in the vertical part of the trench as of 11 a.m. Thursday had increased by about 4.5 centimeters from the level observed at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The level of the water is now only 1.5 centimeters lower than shortly before the water-transfer mission started at 7:35 p.m. Tuesday. Hidehiko Nishiyama, the agency’s spokesman, told a press conference Thursday morning that the rise in the water level is likely linked to the continued injection of water into the No. 2 reactor core, which is necessary to prevent the nuclear fuel inside from overheating. ”As there is believed to be around 20,000 tons of water (in the No. 2 reactor turbine building and the trench connected to it), we’re feeling the difficulty of lowering the level of the water in a stable manner,” he said. TEPCO is preparing to transfer more of the highly radioactive water into a facility for nuclear waste disposal at the plant, which can accommodate 30,000 tons of liquid. Work is under way to ensure that the facility will be able to contain highly radioactive water safely without fear of the stored liquid leaking outside, but Nishiyama told the press conference that he was not sure when it would end. The water in and around the No. 2 reactor turbine building is believed to contain higher concentrations of radioactive substances than other contaminated water found at the site, and is believed to originate from the No. 2 reactor’s core, where fuel rods have partially melted. The agency decided to remove water from the trench first as it feared that the water inside the trench would overflow and leak into the Pacific Ocean. TEPCO also started looking into how to check the quake resistance of already heavily damaged reactor buildings at the site in line with an order issued Wednesday by the nuclear regulatory agency, in light of a series of strong aftershocks of the March 11 quake. The agency has told the utility to immediately examine the buildings and consider reinforcement work if they are judged as not sufficiently quakeproof. TEPCO, however, has said that it cannot ”immediately conduct an investigation” unless it confirms the safety of areas where checks will be conducted. To enhance preparation for tsunami waves triggered by aftershocks and other emergency situations, emergency diesel power generators and vehicle-mounted power sources are to be placed on higher ground, while backup units for water injection at the troubled Nos. 1 to 3 reactors are expected to be installed, according to the nuclear agency. Meanwhile, concern grew over the state of the No. 3 reactor at one point, as the agency said in the afternoon that the temperature of part of its reactor pressure vessel was found to be rising suddenly. But TEPCO officials said the data were likely due to a glitch in a measuring instrument, because other temperature data related to the vessel has not shown a similar rise. |
| More on Japan's nuclear crisis - Thursday, April 14, 2011Nuclear expert Fuksushima 1000 Time Worse Than Engineers Ever Anticipated - Arnold Gundersen discusses the Fukushima Accident Severity Level Being Raised to Level 7, saying the Fukushima disasters is 1,000 times worse than the nuclear engineers who built the plant ever anticipated.
Fairewinds.com
April 14, 2011 Arnold Gundersen discusses the Fukushima Accident Severity Level Being Raised to Level 7, saying the Fukushima disasters is 1,000 times worse than the nuclear engineers who built the plant ever anticipated.
Globalists Positioned to Exploit Japan’s Tragedy - Bangkok, Thailand April 14, 2011 – With US troops occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, conducting military operations in Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and covertly inside Iran, and troops tied up at more than 820 installations in at least 135 countries, America couldn’t offer Japan much help even if they wanted to.
No Good Crisis Goes to Waste. by Tony Cartalucci
Prisonplanet.com
April 14, 2011 Bangkok, Thailand April 14, 2011 – With US troops occupying Iraq and Afghanistan, conducting military operations in Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and covertly inside Iran, and troops tied up at more than 820 installations in at least 135 countries, America couldn’t offer Japan much help even if they wanted to. The United States has approximately 38,000 troops stationed in Japan, however they have neither the equipment nor the training to provide the sort of help needed to deal with Japan’s unprecedented disaster. TheWall Street Journal has reported that US military forces were struggling against a myriad of foreseeable and unforeseeable obstacles to provide even a basic response such as surveying the damage or delivering badly needed supplies to disaster victims. Despite occupying Japan for 66 years, the Wall Street Journal cites “language barriers” as one such obstacle to the US response. Radiological contamination is also cited, despite the treat of North Korean nuclear, biological, and chemical attack and the defense America supposedly provides against it that has been touted for years as a selling point for America’s continued presence in Japanese territory. The troops, most of which are likely doing their absolute best given what is on hand, are not to be blamed for this humiliating response. It is the politicians and the corporate interests steering them that have left the United States so far stretched it is incapable of responding to a crisis that threatens an “ally” and even its own shores. The botched response to Hurricane Katrina is another good example of this phenomenon in practice. Adding Insult to Injury While the globocrats myopically obsessed over exploiting a contrived crisis in Libya, there were smatterings of interest gravitating not around how to mitigate the ongoing disaster in Fukushima, but rather how Japan should rebuild – expressed amongst the pages of the corporate-funded think-tank reports. One such report by Brookings Institute’s Robert Pozen titled, “Japan Can Rebuild on New Economic Foundations” includes calls for Japan to throw its borders open, allowing immigrants to solve their aging population dilemma, reforming its political system to undermine spending in rural Japan, and of course, stimulating economic growth with advances in computer technology, drug discovery, and “financial innovation.” Financial innovation is of course creating and marketing new forms of securities (i.e. derivatives.) The Council on Foreign Relations’ (CFR) Foreign Affairs magazine article “Tokyo’s Turning Point” sees the disaster as an opportunity for Japan to abandon protectionism and embrace the “free-trade” travesty that is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is yet another bid to further mire nations in the disastrous interdependency that is dragging economies from the US and across Europe into a speculative debt black-hole brought on by international bankers. The article continues by suggesting future military reforms resulting from March 11 should include removing “anachronistic constraints” on JSDF rules of engagement, interoperability with U.S. forces, and participation in international defense industrial collaboration. It also suggests that faith in nuclear power having been shaken, Japan’s dependency on foreign oil will increase, breathing new life into America’s mandate to maintain the security of sea-lanes from Japan’s coast all the way to the Middle East (China’s “String of Pearls.”) Patrick Cronin of the corporate lined Center for a New American Security (CNAS) concurs point-for-point, in his article “Japan’s New Deal Opportunity.” He also calls for the full integration of Japan’s military into a”NATO-style military interoperability for a range of missions, perhaps starting with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.” Such “interoperability” and the range of missions Mr. Cronin would like to see Japan take part in as they get back onto their feet, would undoubtedly be greatly beneficial to the military industrial complex that funds his CNAS think-tank. Some corporate, foundation, and government supporters of CNAS include AT&T, BAE Systems (UK), Bechtel, BGR, Chertoff Group, Chevron, DynCorp, General Dynamics, General Electric Aviation, Google, Honeywell International, KBR, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Blackstone Group, Boeing, Rockefeller Foundation, Tides Foundation, US Air Force, US Army, USMC, US Department of Defense, and the US Navy. The consensus emanating from these unelected, extra-legal steering committees of Western policy represent a singular fixation on the pursuit of world government through financial and military hegemony. It is the lens through which all matters are viewed, including the unprecedented tragedy unfolding in Japan. Such myopic megalomaniacal obsession literally costs people their lives, as the priorities set forth but men driven by such an agenda side step real leadership in any given crisis in favor of shameless exploitation. As Japan upgrades the crisis to a similar level of urgency seen during the Chernobyl disaster, it would seem necessary to mobilize a tremendous amount of engineering and scientific resources, as well as beginning efforts to relocated the millions of people in the path of deadly radiation spewing forth from the multiple damaged reactors on Japan’s eastern coast. Such mobilization is unprecedented and tragically requires leadership the world and its respective nations lack.
With no resolution to the crisis in sight, the damaged facilities at Fukushima continue to pump massive amounts of nuclear radiation into the surrounding environment every single day.The American Dream
April 14, 2011 With no resolution to the crisis in sight, the damaged facilities at Fukushima continue to pump massive amounts of nuclear radiation into the surrounding environment every single day. So will much of northern Japan end up being uninhabitable due to nuclear radiation? Everyone agrees that the area immediately around Fukushima will be uninhabitable indefinitely. The only question is how large of an area around Fukushima is eventually going to be considered unlivable. This week authorities in Japan finally raised the crisis at Fukushima up to a level 7 disaster on the international scale. In fact, they are now telling us that the total release of radioactive material will likely surpass that of the Chernobyl disaster. Chernobyl was incredibly nightmarish and there are still vast areas around Chernobyl that are basically uninhabitable. But Chernobyl only burned for 10 days. The crisis at Fukushima could end up lasting for many months. Keep in mind that radiation is cumulative. Every single day the total amount of radioactive material that the world is dealing with because of Fukushima just continues to increase. It would be hard to overstate how much of a disaster this will eventually be for Japan. At this point it seems clear that those that lived within the 30 km evacuation zone will never be able to safely return to their homes. But what about the rest of northern Japan? Already there are indications that areas beyond the evacuation zone will soon be unlivable as well as Stephen Lendman recently noted…. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported a Hiroshima and Kyoto Universities’ study showing radioactivity in soil samples beyond the 30 km evacuation zone is up to 400 times above normal, saying: “The predicted changes in the level of radiation at the ground surface were calculated after analyzing the amounts of eight kinds of radioactive materials found in the soil and taking into consideration the half-lives of each material.”
The health effects of the various kinds of radioactive material that are being released at Fukushima should not be underestimated. Just consider what Dr. Russell Blaylock recently told Newsmax…. When we look at Chernobyl, most of West Germany was heavily contaminated. Norway, Sweden. Hungary was terribly contaminated. The radiation was taken up into the plants. The food was radioactive. They took the milk and turned it into cheese. The cheese was radioactive. That’s the big danger, the crops in this country being contaminated, the milk in particular, with Strontium 90. That radiation is incorporated into the bones and stays for a lifetime.
So would you like to have radioactive material in your bones that affects your health for the rest of your life? Do you want to live every day in fear of what you are eating? Those are the kinds of decisions that residents of northern Japan are going to be facing. Some “experts” on the mainstream media have been downplaying the health risk from nuclear radiation, but the truth is that there is a world of difference between “external radiation” and “internal radiation”. In a recent article for The Guardian, Helen Caldicott, explained why internal radiation is such a health hazard…. Internal radiation, on the other hand, emanates from radioactive elements which enter the body by inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption. Hazardous radionuclides such as iodine-131, caesium 137, and other isotopes currently being released in the sea and air around Fukushima bio-concentrate at each step of various food chains (for example into algae, crustaceans, small fish, bigger fish, then humans; or soil, grass, cow’s meat and milk, then humans). After they enter the body, these elements – called internal emitters – migrate to specific organs such as the thyroid, liver, bone, and brain, where they continuously irradiate small volumes of cells with high doses of alpha, beta and/or gamma radiation, and over many years, can induce uncontrolled cell replication – that is, cancer. Further, many of the nuclides remain radioactive in the environment for generations, and ultimately will cause increased incidences of cancer and genetic diseases over time.
The entire food chain in northern Japan is being absolutely soaked with radioactive material. Anyone that eats any food produced in northern Japan from now on is going to be taking a very serious risk. That also applies to any seafood produced in northern Japan. The Japanese seafood industry is going to be absolutely decimated by all of this. Authorities in Japan recently told us that 11,500 tons of “moderately radioactive” water were going to be purposely released into the Pacific Ocean. All of that radioactive material is going to be in the Pacific food chain for generations. Seawater near the facility at Fukushima was recently measured to contain 7.5 million times the legal limit of iodine-131. Anyone hungry for some fish? But iodine-131 only has a half-life of about 8 days. Some of the radioactive material being released at Fukushima has a much longer life span. As I wrote about recently, radioactive cesium-137 is being released at 60% of the level that it was being released at during the Chernobyl disaster. Cesium-137 has a half-life of approximately 30 years. That means that all of this cesium-137 is going to be with us for a very, very long time. Not only that, authorities in Japan are now admitting that strontium is being released into the environment at Fukushima…. Slight amounts of strontium, a heavy radioactive metal that could lead to leukemia, have been detected in soil and plants near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan’s science and technology ministry said on Tuesday.
And perhaps most deadly of all, the plutonium being released at Fukushima is going to contaminate the environment pretty much forever as Kurt Nimmo recently noted…. The alpha emitter plutonium is especially deadly. Plutonium 239 has a high half-life of around 24,000 years. Plutonium transforms into americium and enters the water table. It can contaminate a water supply for centuries.
What we are doing to the earth is beyond criminal. When people talk about the possibility that northern Japan could end up being uninhabitable they are not making things up. Remember, radioactivity from Chernobyl deeply contaminated 77,000 square miles. So how long is the crisis at Fukushima going to last? Well, there is at least one nuclear expert that claims that it could be 50 to 100 years before any of the spent nuclear fuel rods at the Fukushima complex will cool down enough to be removed from the facility. That is a very, very long time. And the truth is that every single man, woman and child in the northern hemisphere is going to be exposed to radioactive material from Fukushima. Already, radioactive iodine-131 from the nuclear disaster at Fukushima has been found in seaweed in Puget Sound. Ack! Our authorities are trying to keep us calm, but the truth is that significant amounts of radioactive material are getting into the U.S. food chain. According to Natural News, alarmingly high levels of radioactive material from Fukushima are being found in U.S. milk samples…. In Phoenix, Ariz., a milk sample taken on March 28, 2011, tested at 3.2 pCi/l. In Little Rock, Ark., a milk sample taken on March 30, 2011, tested at 8.9 pCi/l, which is almost three times the EPA limit. And in Hilo, Hawaii, a milk sample collected on April 4, 2011, tested at 18 pCi/l, a level six times the EPA maximum safety threshold.
Try not to think about the possibility that there may be radiation in your milkthe next time you have a glass. Amazingly, U.S. workers are actually being recruited to go over to Japan and work at Fukushima. Anyone need a job? The pay is apparently very good. You just might not live long enough to spend much of the cash that you make over there. This crisis could end up being a death blow to the Japanese economy. Already it is being projected that approximately 5 million new vehicles will not be built this year because of the crisis in Japan. In fact, Toyota is warning U.S. car dealers that there could be significant shortages of new vehicles this summer. That means that if you want a new Toyota you better go out and grab one while you still can. So could the crisis in Japan get even worse? Yes. The truth is that the area around Japan is incredibly seismically active right now. Since the original earthquake back on March 11th, Japan has experienced over 980 aftershocks. In some areas of Japan there are moments when you can literally see the ground moving. The video posted below absolutely blew me away the first time that I saw it. In this video, you can actually watch the ground in Japan move. Trust me, this video is worth a couple minutes of your time because it will absolutely blow your mind….
It had been a while since we had a factual update (as opposed to just lies and spin) from Fukushima. Courtesy of Kyodo, we now know that what was speculated by some as true, and rebutted by most as mere scaremongering, is in fact, fact. Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
April 14, 2011 It had been a while since we had a factual update (as opposed to just lies and spin) from Fukushima. Courtesy of Kyodo, we now know that what was speculated by some as true, and rebutted by most as mere scaremongering, is in fact, fact. “Some of the spent nuclear fuel rods stored in the No. 4 reactor building of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi power plant were confirmed to be damaged, but most of them are believed to be in sound condition, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday.” Naturally, in one month we will learn that most of them are damaged, and in two months, that each and every one has been demolished. “The firm known as TEPCO said its analysis of a 400-milliliter water sample taken Tuesday from the No. 4 unit’s spent nuclear fuel pool revealed the damage to some fuel rods in such a pool for the first time, as it detected higher-than-usual levels of radioactive iodine-131, cesium-134 and cesium-137.” These confirm an ongoing fission reaction. In a tremendously ironic development, the No. 4 reactor, halted for a regular inspection before last month’s earthquake and tsunami disaster, had all of its 1,331 spent fuel rods and 204 unused fuel rods stored in the pool for the maintenance work. Unfortunately, the entire pool ended up being damaged following the quake and the subsequent explosion, in essence nullifying any protection that the containment dome would have provided. As the picture from the Asahi Shimbun below shows, the damage from overhanging structures which have subsequently fallen into the fuel pool likely means that there could well be an uncontrolled, if weak, fission reaction currently going on in the reactor 4 SFP (where the water temperature is currently 90 degrees) unprotected by the elements due to the complete destruction of the Reactor 4 shell. 
(picture via of saposjoint)More from Kyodo: The cooling period for 548 of the 1,331 rods was shorter than that for others and the volume of decay heat emitted from the fuel in the No. 4 unit pool is larger compared with pools at other reactor buildings. According to TEPCO, radioactive iodine-131 amounting to 220 becquerels per cubic centimeter, cesium-134 of 88 becquerels and cesium-137 of 93 becquerels were detected in the pool water. Those substances are generated by nuclear fission. The government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the confirmed radioactive materials were up to 100,000 times higher than normal but that the higher readings may have also been caused by the pouring of rainwater containing much radioactivity or particles of radiation-emitting rubble in the pool. The roof and the upper walls of the No. 4 reactor building have been blown away by a hydrogen explosion and damaged by fires since the disaster struck the plant. The water level in the spent fuel pool is believed to have temporarily dropped.
In the meantime the latest drywell readiation reading in Reactor 1 is still “out of commission” 
(Source: METI) And lastly, a demonstration from Fairewinds’ Arnie Gunderson who shows how the Zircalloy uranium pellets mostly likely melted and shattered, possibly penetrating through the floor of reactors 2 and 3. Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen demonstrates how Fukushima’s fuel rods melted and shattered from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo. |
| Radioactive Seaweed Detected In Puget Sound - Wednesday, April 13, 2011Radiation leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex in Japan has been detected in seaweed in Puget Sound, but researchers say there’s no need for alarm.Richard Thompson
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News
April 13, 2011 Radiation leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex in Japan has been detected in seaweed in Puget Sound, but researchers say there’s no need for alarm. KIRO 7 obtained samples of seaweed from Budd Inlet near Olympia two weeks ago. Professor Kris Starosta at Simon Fraser University confirmed the presence of radioactive iodine Monday. “We have seen iodine 131 in the sample you sent us,” he said. “I think it’s pretty clear by now this must be iodine 131 from releases from Fukushima.” The confirmation came on the same day Japan raised the crisis level at the plant from 5 to 7, the highest level on the international scale. “I think it is surprising,” Starosta said. “I guess I was assuming it wouln’t reach this far, but it did.” The radiation levels found in the seaweed are lower than those detected in Vancouver, B.C., two weeks ago, possibly because the samples came from the beach and not underwater, Starosta said. Some people we spoke with expressed concern about the radiation...read more
Comments from those in the know and what your government and the media will not tell you as they both keep on down playing the daily effects to exposer..
People don't listen to the storys that the so called experts keep saying that low levels of radiation won't harm you. They can harm you aspeople who work in the radiation program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard will tell you. They say they are trained and know that any levels can be harmful. Any chemist, or physicist, or radiologist will tell you no amount of this type of radiation exposure is "safe". It's not just high levels of radiation that cause damage, extreme low levels of radiation do too.These extreme low levels of biologically significant radiation hit North America Mid March 2011.
Low levels of radiation were found in Washington and California milk by the end of March.North American Radiation * Cesium 137 accumulates in fatty tissues, liver, spleen and muscles * Iodide-131 accumulates in Thyroid, breast and ovaries * Strontium-90 concentrates in your bones and liver *
Barium-140 causes bone tumors up to 30 years later * Tellurium-132 causes cell mutations, repeatedly via replication * Yttrium-0 damage to liver and respiration * Plutonium-244 concentrates in your liver * Uranium 235 accumulates in your bones and liver.
In 1972 Dr Abram Petkau discovered that low levels of radiation, over a longer period of time, were more damaging than higher doses over a short period of time. Once you ingest or inhale even very low levels of radioactive particles the Petkau Effect immediately starts potentially lethal tissue ionization.
The phenomenon of the Petkau Effect basically means that you are ionizing or irradiating yourself continuously from the inside out. This insidious burning at your molecular level will impair your body long before there is a diagnosable disease.There is much that can be done to protect yourself, family, friends, animals & your soil.
http://www.natural-heatlh-home-remedies.com/radiation.html
read more ... |
| Why were we not told weeks ago, and the big cover up.. - Wednesday, April 13, 2011Nuclear Nightmare Getting Worse, Yet Propaganda Continues - Mark Sircus | Toxic accumulation, whether from heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, food additives and preservatives, etc. will each take their toll.
April 13, 2011
“The troubled nuclear plant… is facing a wide array of fresh threats that could persist indefinitely, and that in some cases are expected to increase as a result of the very measures being taken to keep the plant stable,” according to a confidential NRC assessment. Japan said it is considering expanding the area covered by a compulsory evacuation order, with no immediate end in sight to the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. At this point we should all sit up and take notice of what is happening and what could all so easily happen.
“The core at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor has melted through the reactor pressure vessel,” Rep. Edward Markey told a House hearing on the disaster. “I have been informed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the core has gotten so hot that part of it has probably melted through the reactor pressure vessel.” America’s NRC said that some of the core of a stricken Japanese reactor had probably leaked from its steel pressure vessel into the bottom of the containment structure, implying that the damage was even worse than previously thought. Richard Lahey, who was head of safety research for boiling-water reactors at General Electric when the company installed the units at Fukushima, told the Guardian that at least part of the molten core, which includes melted fuel rods and zirconium alloy cladding, seemed to have sunk through the steel “lower head” of the pressure vessel around reactor no. 2. “The indications we have, from the reactor to radiation readings and the materials they are seeing, suggest that the core has melted through the bottom of the pressure vessel in unit two, and at least some of it is down on the floor of the drywell,” Lahey said. On April 5, Times writers James Glanz and William Broad headlined, “U.S. Sees Array of New Threats at Japan’s Nuclear Plant,” saying: American engineers warned “that the troubled nuclear plant… is facing a wide array of fresh threats that could persist indefinitely, and that in some cases are expected to increase as a result of the very measures being taken to keep the plant stable,” according to a confidential NRC assessment. According to former GE reactor designer Margaret Harding, “Exposed/unprotected spent fuel rods in Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 pose extreme dangers. Moreover, explosions blew nuclear material ‘up to one mile from the units’ into the atmosphere, indicating much greater damage than previously disclosed. As a result, David Lochbaum from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) believes, “This paints a very different picture, and suggests that things are a lot worse. They could still have more damage in a big way if some of these things don’t work out for them… They’ve got a lot of nasty things to (handle), and one missed step could make the situation much, much worse.” On March 29, Dr. Chris Busby said, “In fact, Fukushima already way exceeds Chernobyl and Three Mile Island and will get increasingly worse ahead as radiation releases continue and spread. I believe that (the array of) phony experts are criminally irresponsible, since their advice will lead to millions of deaths… I hope they are sent to jail where they can have plenty of time to read the scientific proofs (showing) their advice was based on the mathematical analysis of thin air.” Dr. Busby cited John Gofman, a senior U.S. Atomic Energy Commission expert who resigned, saying: “The nuclear industry is waging a war against humanity.” Busby calls it “the greatest public health scandal in human history,” which can be witnessed in the present as the government and press continue to mislead the public. As radioactive iodine and cesium-137 continue to spread across the northern hemisphere in higher and higher amounts, and is now reported in France, not a word is mentioned about the population’s iodine deficiencies and how that will guarantee that almost everyone’s thyroids will be ever so thirsty sponges for radioactive iodine. Criminal, mass murder and crimes against humanity are all words that come to mind thinking of this. Medical officials are either totally dumb or the meanest rats that ever walked this earth. They are obviously too stupid to realize that the public’s mineral deficiencies are a major factor in calculating vulnerabilities to exposures to radiation. We have no choice but to prepare our hearts that this catastrophe will go to level seven and beyond releasing unsupportable radiation onto the nation of Japan and into the northern hemisphere—especially North America. And in fact this morning we find the Japanese doing just that, raising the nuclear catastrophe to level 7. It is more than pathetic though that in the announcement about going to level 7 that the same article mentions Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano telling reporters there was no “direct health damage” so far from the crisis. “The accident itself is really serious, but we have set our priority so as not to cause health damage.” Seems like Japanese ministers are playing God now in their frustration over events that are simply overwhelming them. Hironobu Unesaki, a nuclear physicist at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, said the revision was not a cause for worry that it had to do with the overall release of radiation and was not directly linked to health dangers. Incredible the press would even print such garbage. Sounds like these gentlemen are like men standing on the shoreline telling the tide not to come in. The really bad news has yet to fall on Tokyo, one of the richest and largest metropolitan areas in the world. Will it succumb to the expanding radiation and become the first major center of civilization to fall? Evacuation orders are currently issued when residents are at risk of receiving radiation of at least 50 millisieverts (with no time rate mentioned in the report), but the government said that arrangement assumed only brief exposure. Chronic and persistent exposures need to be calculated into the far future meaning people are going to have to be removed from wider and wider areas. “The standard does not take into account the effects of accumulative exposure,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. “We are discussing what standards to use for accumulative radiation.” You would think that governments in conjunction with the nuclear industry would have had this all figured out by now but they remain in complete denial of the dangerous of radiation at low levels of chronic exposure. The disaster is hitting the Japanese were it really hurts by destroying their crops and now fish. “Japan now has to contemplate having to change thousand-year-old eating habits. For an archipelago that has lived off the ocean since prehistoric times, radioactive fish is a worst-case scenario with possibly economy-wide implications.” It is really scary to think about the situation worsening. So far most Japanese reportedly have not been directly affected by the calamity, but the realization that radioactive material has been found in seafood has made many of the nation’s 126 million people nervous, as it should. And those rolling blackouts are certainly having their effects on the population and the industries that have made Japan the great nation it has become. Japan was also the scene of one of the worst public health disasters ever with thousands crippled by mercury poisoning of seafood caused when toxic chemicals were released into the sea in the 1950s and 1960s. Mercury is another invisible poison and has become a disaster running in the background that everyone seems to continue to ignore. This admission in the mainstream of the mercury mishap in Japan opens Pandora’s box—the one where heavy metals, toxic chemicals and radiation mix to create a truly poisoned world. The high priests of this kind of world tell us not to worry as they raise the limits of what is considered “safe” as they did in Japan—the water is now “safe” to drink in Tokyo because they moved the goal posts and raised the limits of what is “safe.” The EPA reportedly also raised the “safe” limits. Meanwhile doctors continue to expose their patients to higher and higher levels of radiation but this is going to finally have to stop. Soaring numbers of kids are getting CT scans in emergency rooms. The number of ER visits nationwide in which children were given CT scans surged from about 330,000 in 1995 to 1.65 million in 2008—a five-fold increase. The number of kids’ ER visits didn’t increase measurably during the study, but the percentage of visits involving CT scans climbed from about one percent to almost six percent. Increases in CT scan use have also been found in adults and the cancer industry is desperately fighting to make sure women still get their mammograms even though they too expose women to dangerous radiation, the last thing they need in an increasingly radioactive world. What medical officials, then doctors, will have to discover after they have been hit over the head several times with nuclear two-by-fours, is that every toxic exposure will increase people’s vulnerability to succumb to radiation sickness. Toxic accumulation, whether from heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, food additives and preservatives, etc. will each take their toll, weakening our resistance or ability to clear radioactive particles from our bodies. Dr. Mark Sircus is a natural health expert and self-sufficiency advocate. He is the author of several must-read books including titles such as Survival Medicine For the 21st Century, Winning the War on Cancer, and Humane Pediatrics. You can find all of Mark’s informative articles at his website IMVA.
Europeans warned to avoid milk and vegetables due to high radiation levels - Mike Adams | French say drinking milk and eating vegetables is “risky behavior.” The radiation risk from Fukushima is “no longer negligable,” says CRIIRAD, the French research authority on radioactivity. It is now warning expectant mothers and young children to avoid drinking milk or rainwater. Mike Adams
NaturalNews
April 13, 2011 The radiation risk from Fukushima is “no longer negligable,” says CRIIRAD, the French research authority on radioactivity. It is now warning expectant mothers and young children to avoid drinking milk or rainwater. They should also avoid certain types of vegetables and cheese due to the dangerously high levels of radiation they may contain thanks to the radioactive fallout spreading across the globe (http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/r…). 
CRIIRAD now says that eating these items qualifies as “risky behavior.” And yet, in practically the same sentence, the organization claims there is “absolutely no need” for anyone to take iodine tablets.
That’s right: There’s so much radiation in the food that you probably shouldn’t eat it. But all that radiation is so harmless that you don’t need to protect yourself from it with iodine. It’s amazing how these people think they can have it both ways. The institute goes on to say that drinking rainwater might be dangerous, but standing in the rain is perfectly safe. There’s actually some sense to this, as ingesting radioactive water is indeed far more dangerous than merely being drenched in it. But U.S. nuclear authorities make no such distinction, by the way. Here comes the mass irradiation of the food supply Despite these warnings, the real issue that few are willing to acknowledge so far is that Fukushima fallout will continue for many more months. And during this fallout, there will be a cumulative load of radiation raining down upon the grasses, fruits and vegetables that make up the global food supply. How high those levels get is anyone’s guess, and those animals that feed upon those grasses — such as cattle, goats and sheep — will tend to further concentrate the radioactivity, producing milk and meat products that are far more radioactive than the grasses upon which they fed. This is a very sad circumstance, of course, because it means that the corn-fed, factory-farmed cattle will probably be LESS radioactive than the open-range grass-fed cattle whose beef products are usually far better for you. Although I’m not personally someone who consumes beef, I’m a big supporter of those who choose grass-fed beef over the corn-fed factory farmed beef. Bring your Geiger counter to the fresh produce section What I’m beginning to wonder in all this, however, is how high the radioactivity of the entire food supply is going to become. Are we looking toward a day when we have to being Geiger counters to the grocery store? Will we soon have two bins of apples at the store called “Pre-Fukushima” and “Post-Fukushima?” And for all those people who have already stored food, good for you! All the food you stored before Fukushima is obviously not radioactive, and there may come a day when non-radioactive food commands a huge price premium. For those still looking to acquire and store non-radioactive healthy foods, check out www.StorableOrganics.com where you can find organic foods and superfoods sealed in steel cans for long-term emergency preparedness. The entire inventory there is “Pre-Fukushima,” by the way. For those who haven’t stored any food, you might start thinking about what you’re going to eat if Fukushima suffers yet another explosion and a massive cloud of radioactive isotopes gets dropped onto the food production lands of the world. This situation will only get worse before it gets better. And sadly, even growing your own food is no solution to all this, because your own gardens are just as susceptible to radiation fallout as commercial crop lands. Only those who grow food in greenhouses will be largely protected from the fallout. Maybe it’s a good time to buy some sprouting seeds, too, because you can sprout seeds in your own kitchen and grow them free of radiation. In just 3 days, you can turn a pile of seeds into a nutritious sprout salad. Add some avocado and balsamic vinegar and you have a delicious lunch!
‘Worst-case scenario: Fukushima fuel pool with plutonium catches fire’
- Nuclear engineer, Arnold Gundersen, believes the Japanese government has downplayed the extent of the disaster.
RT - April 13, 2011 Engineers at Japan’s struggling Fukushima nuclear plant have resumed efforts to remove built-up radioactive water. It comes after a powerful aftershock forced crews to flee the area. On Tuesday Japan raised the nuclear alert around the facility to the maximum level of seven. This puts the crisis on a par with the Chernobyl disaster. The decision was based on new data showing more radiation had leaked from the damaged plant than previously thought. But officials say that the upgrade does not mean the situation has become more critical. Meanwhile, attempts to restore cooling systems at the reactors appear to be no closer to success. Nuclear engineer, Arnold Gundersen, believes the Japanese government has downplayed the extent of the disaster…
Secret Weapons Program Inside Fukushima Nuclear Plant? - Confused and often conflicting reports out of Fukushima 1 nuclear plant cannot be solely the result of tsunami-caused breakdowns, bungling or miscommunication. Inexplicable delays and half-baked explanations from Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) seem to be driven by some unspoken factor.U.S.-Japan security treaty fatally delayed nuclear workers’ fight against meltdown Yoichi Shimatsu
Fourth Media (China)
April 13, 2011 Confused and often conflicting reports out of Fukushima 1 nuclear plant cannot be solely the result of tsunami-caused breakdowns, bungling or miscommunication. Inexplicable delays and half-baked explanations from Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) seem to be driven by some unspoken factor. The smoke and mirrors at Fukushima 1 seem to obscure a steady purpose, an iron will and a grim task unknown to outsiders. The most logical explanation: The nuclear industry and government agencies are scrambling to prevent the discovery of atomic-bomb research facilities hidden inside Japan’s civilian nuclear power plants. A secret nuclear weapons program is a ghost in the machine, detectable only when the system of information control momentarily lapses or breaks down. A close look must be taken at the gap between the official account and unexpected events. Conflicting Reports TEPCO, Japan’s nuclear power operator, initially reported three reactors were operating at the time of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Then a hydrogen explosion ripped Unit 3, run on plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (or MOX). Unit 6 immediately disappeared from the list of operational reactors, as highly lethal particles of plutonium billowed out of Unit 3. Plutonium is the stuff of smaller, more easily delivered warheads. A fire ignited inside the damaged housing of the Unit 4 reactor, reportedly due to overheating of spent uranium fuel rods in a dry cooling pool. But the size of the fire indicates that this reactor was running hot for some purpose other than electricity generation. Its omission from the list of electricity-generating operations raises the question of whether Unit 4 was being used to enrich uranium, the first step of the process leading to extraction of weapons-grade fissionable material. The bloom of irradiated seawater across the Pacific comprises another piece of the puzzle, because its underground source is untraceable (or, perhaps, unmentionable). The flooded labyrinth of pipes, where the bodies of two missing nuclear workers—never before disclosed to the press— were found, could well contain the answer to the mystery: a lab that none dare name. Political Warfare In reaction to Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s demand for prompt reporting of problems, the pro-nuclear lobby has closed ranks, fencing off and freezing out the prime minister’s office from vital information. A grand alliance of nuclear proponents now includes TEPCO, plant designer General Electric, METI, the former ruling Liberal Democratic Party and, by all signs, the White House. Cabinet ministers in charge of communication and national emergencies recently lambasted METI head Banri Kaeda for acting as both nuclear promoter and regulator in charge of the now-muzzled Nuclear and Industrial Safety Commission. TEPCO struck back quickly, blaming the prime minister’s helicopter fly-over for delaying venting of volatile gases and thereby causing a blast at Reactor 2. For “health reasons,” TEPCO ‘s president retreated to a hospital ward, cutting Kan’s line of communication with the company and undermining his site visit to Fukushima 1. Kan is furthered hampered by his feud with Democratic Party rival Ichiro Ozawa, the only potential ally with the clout to challenge the formidable pro-nuclear coalition The head of the Liberal Democrats, which sponsored nuclear power under its nearly 54-year tenure, has just held confidential talks with U.S. Ambassador John Roos, while President Barack Obama was making statements in support of new nuclear plants across the U.S. Cut Off From Communications The substance of undisclosed talks between Tokyo and Washington can be surmised from disruptions to my recent phone calls to a Japanese journalist colleague. While inside the radioactive hot zone, his roaming number was disconnected, along with the mobiles of nuclear workers at Fukushima 1 who are denied phone access to the outside world. The service suspension is not due to design flaws. When helping to prepare the Tohoku crisis response plan in 1996, my effort was directed at ensuring that mobile base stations have back-up power with fast recharge. A subsequent phone call when my colleague returned to Tokyo went dead when I mentioned “GE.” That incident occurred on the day that GE’s CEO Jeff Immelt landed in Tokyo with a pledge to rebuild the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant. Such apparent eavesdropping is only possible if national phone carrier NTT is cooperating with the signals-intercepts program of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). The Manchurian Deal The chain of events behind this vast fabrication goes back many decades. During the Japanese militarist occupation of northeast China in the 1930s, the puppet state of Manchukuo was carved out as a fully modern economic powerhouse to support overpopulated Japan and its military machine. A high-ranking economic planner named Nobusuke Kishi worked closely with then commander of the occupying Kanto division, known to the Chinese as the Kwantung Army, General Hideki Tojo. Close ties between the military and colonial economists led to stunning technological achievements, including the prototype of a bullet train (or Shinkansen) and inception of Japan’s atomic bomb project in northern Korea. When Tojo became Japan’s wartime prime minister, Kishi served as his minister of commerce and economy, planning for total war on a global scale. After Japan’s defeat in 1945, both Tojo and Kishi were found guilty as Class-A war criminals, but Kishi evaded the gallows for reasons unknown—probably his usefulness to a war-ravaged nation. The scrawny economist’s conception of a centrally managed economy provided the blueprint for MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry), the predecessor of METI, which created the economic miracle that transformed postwar Japan into an economic superpower. After clawing his way into the good graces of Cold Warrior John Foster Dulles, Eisenhower’s secretary of state, Kishi was elected prime minister in 1957. His protégé Yasuhiro Nakasone, the former naval officer and future prime minister, spearheaded Japan’s campaign to become a nuclear power under the cover of the Atomic Energy Basic Law. American Complicity Kishi secretly negotiated a deal with the White House to permit the U.S. military to store atomic bombs in Okinawa and Atsugi naval air station outside Tokyo. (Marine corporal Lee Harvey Oswald served as a guard inside Atsugi’s underground warhead armory.) In exchange, the U.S. gave the nod for Japan to pursue a “civilian” nuclear program. Secret diplomacy was required due to the overwhelming sentiment of the Japanese public against nuclear power in the wake of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. Two years ago, a text of the secret agreement was unearthed by Katsuya Okada, foreign minister in the cabinet of the first Democratic Party prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama (who served for nine months from 2009-10). Many key details were missing from this document, which had been locked inside the Foreign Ministry archives. Retired veteran diplomat Kazuhiko Togo disclosed that the more sensitive matters were contained in brief side letters, some of which were kept in a mansion frequented by Kishi’s half-brother, the late Prime Minister Eisaku Sato (who served from 1964-72). Those most important diplomatic notes, Togo added, were removed and subsequently disappeared. These revelations were considered a major issue in Japan, yet were largely ignored by the Western media. With the Fukushima nuclear plant going up in smoke, the world is now paying the price of that journalistic neglect. On his 1959 visit to Britain, Kishi was flown by military helicopter to the Bradwell nuclear plant in Essex. The following year, the first draft of the U.S.-Japan security was signed, despite massive peace protests in Tokyo. Within a couple of years, the British firm GEC built Japan’s first nuclear reactor at Tokaimura, Ibaragi Prefecture. At the same time, just after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the newly unveiled Shinkansen train gliding past Mount Fuji provided the perfect rationale for nuclear-sourced electricity. Kishi uttered the famous statement that “nuclear weapons are not expressly prohibited” under the postwar Constitution’s Article 9 prohibiting war-making powers. His words were repeated two years ago by his grandson, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The ongoing North Korea “crisis” served as a pretext for this third-generation progeny of the political elite to float the idea of a nuclear-armed Japan. Many Japanese journalists and intelligence experts assume the secret program has sufficiently advanced for rapid assembly of a warhead arsenal and that underground tests at sub-critical levels have been conducted with small plutonium pellets. Sabotaging Alternative Energy The cynical attitude of the nuclear lobby extends far into the future, strangling at birth the Japanese archipelago’s only viable source of alternative energy—offshore wind power. Despite decades of research, Japan has only 5 percent of the wind energy production of China, an economy (for the moment, anyway) of comparable size. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a nuclear-power partner of Westinghouse, manufactures wind turbines but only for the export market. The Siberian high-pressure zone ensures a strong and steady wind flow over northern Japan, but the region’s utility companies have not taken advantage of this natural energy resource. The reason is that TEPCO, based in Tokyo and controlling the largest energy market, acts much as a shogun over the nine regional power companies and the national grid. Its deep pockets influence high bureaucrats, publishers and politicians like Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, while nuclear ambitions keep the defense contractors and generals on its side. Yet TEPCO is not quite the top dog. Its senior partner in this mega-enterprise is Kishi’s brainchild, METI. The national test site for offshore wind is unfortunately not located in windswept Hokkaido or Niigata, but farther to the southeast, in Chiba Prefecture. Findings from these tests to decide the fate of wind energy won’t be released until 2015. The sponsor of that slow-moving trial project is TEPCO. Death of Deterrence Meanwhile in 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a muted warning on Japan’s heightened drive for a nuclear bomb— and promptly did nothing. The White House has to turn a blind eye to the radiation streaming through American skies or risk exposure of a blatant double standard on nuclear proliferation by an ally. Besides, Washington’s quiet approval for a Japanese bomb doesn’t quite sit well with the memory of either Pearl Harbor or Hiroshima. In and of itself, a nuclear deterrence capability would be neither objectionable nor illegal— in the unlikely event that the majority of Japanese voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to Article 9. Legalized possession would require safety inspections, strict controls and transparency of the sort that could have hastened the Fukushima emergency response. Covert weapons development, in contrast, is rife with problems. In the event of an emergency, like the one happening at this moment, secrecy must be enforced at all cost— even if it means countless more hibakusha, or nuclear victims. Instead of enabling a regional deterrence system and a return to great-power status, the Manchurian deal planted the time bombs now spewing radiation around the world. The nihilism at the heart of this nuclear threat to humanity lies not inside Fukushima 1, but within the national security mindset. The specter of self-destruction can be ended only with the abrogation of the U.S.-Japan security treaty, the root cause of the secrecy that fatally delayed the nuclear workers’ fight against meltdown. Yoichi Shimatsu who is Editor-at-large with the 4th Media is a Hong Kong–based environmental writer. He is the former editor of the Japan Times Weekly. This article is first appeared in the New American Media.
ENE News
April 13, 2011 Japan ups Fukushima nuke crisis severity to 7, same as Chernobyl, Kyodo, April 12, 2011: … The plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. offered an apology to the public for being still unable to stop the radiation leakage, pointing to the possibility that the total emission of radioactive substances could eventually surpass that of the Chernobyl incident. … ”Even though some amount of radiation keeps leaking from reactors and their containment vessels, they are not totally destroyed and are functioning,” [Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for Japan's nuclear agency] said. … Read the report here. ......Leaking Japanese Nuclear Complex Owner: Radiation May End Up Exceeding ChernobylWashington’s Blog
April 13, 2011 Tepco is finally admitting what has been obvious for some time: that Fukushima could end up being worse than Chernobyl. As Reuters notes: The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said on Tuesday that they are concerned that the radiation leakage could eventually exceed that of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. “The radiation leak has not stopped completely and our concern is that it could eventually exceed Chernobyl,” an official from operator Tokyo Electric and Power told reporters on Tuesday.
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| CANADA: Elevated radiation levels found in Ontario: Energy Minister - Wednesday, April 13, 2011UPDATED: Once Again the government of Canada has refused to alert people of radaition levels on nuclear plant spill. Elevated levels of radiation have been detected in Ontario in the wake of the Japanese nuclear disaster after last month’s tragic earthquake, Energy Minister Brad Duguid says. Tanya Talaga
Toronto Star
April 13, 2011 Elevated levels of radiation have been detected in Ontario in the wake of the Japanese nuclear disaster after last month’s tragic earthquake, Energy Minister Brad Duguid says. However, the minister told reporters on Tuesday that he does not know where it is — if it is in milk or in the air — and when it got here. Radioactive iodine has been discovered in milk in the eastern United States, according to New Democratic MPP France Gelinas (Nickel Belt) who brought the issue up during question period. On March 11, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan, killing more than 10,000 people and crippling the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors. Duguid referred reporters to federal websites to find out more information from federal authorities such as Health Canada. “I understand that there is and has been some detection of minor increases in radiation but it is not anywhere close to something that would be any impact in terms of human health and it is not something Ontario residents need to be overly concerned about,” he said. “They have had similar readings, I believe, in the United States,” he said. “In terms of the specifics of those readings they may be available on the federal websites.” Duguid said Ontario authorities would continue to be vigilant and that people can be assured food and milk is safe. Health Minister Deb Matthews told Gelinas she will ask Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Arlene King to look into the issue and see if there are any potential health threats here.
Meanwhile: Cover-up in Canada: Radioactive Leak Into Lake Ontario - Friday, March 18, 2011 With all the focus placed on the Japanese radiation leak as well as the toxic plume of radioactive particles (possibly containing uranium and plutonium) heading for the United States, another potential disaster is receiving virtually no attention.
Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
March 18, 2011
With all the focus placed on the Japanese radiation leak as well as the toxic plume of radioactive particles (possibly containing uranium and plutonium) heading for the United States, another potential disaster is receiving virtually no attention, by the Canadian government of the media in Canada. Of course, attention should be paid to the Japanese situation. Especially since the mainstream media is doing everything it can to cover up the scale of the disaster.
Nevertheless, it seems the continent of North America is being hit from two sides in terms of radiation danger. On March 16, a report was released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) stating that Canada’s Ontario Power Generation has released radioactive water into Lake Ontario via a leak in the Pickering A nuclear generating station. As a result of what appears to be a pump seal failure, tens of thousands of litres of radioactive water escaped the generating station on Monday and ended up in Lake Ontario. This is concerning for a number of reasons, but it is especially concerning considering the fact that Lake Ontario is the main source of drinking water for millions of people. Typically, the Canadian government is claiming that the water contamination is of little concern and that the citizenry should not be alarmed. In an official statement, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission claimed, “The radiological risk to the environment and people’s health is negligible.” Likewise, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the Canadian government have been preferring to use the term “demineralized” water instead of “radioactive” water when discussing the leak. No doubt this is an attempt to hush concern over another radioactive accident amid anxiety over the “demineralized” catastrophe in Japan. John Luxat, an “expert” on radiation from McMaster University claims the water that found its way into Lake Ontario Monday is actually not radioactive at all. In an interview with the CTV News Channel, Luxat stated, “It is not radioactive; it is not going through the reactors. It is actually just going through steam generators to produce steam to drive the turbines. It is used to remove heat from the heavy water going into the generators, but it doesn’t at any time go into the reactor.” That sounds reassuring enough. However, it conflicts with a report (that was meant to be reassuring) from OPG itself. Also in the same interview with CTV News Channel, Ted Gruetzner of OPG said, “People are concerned about nuclear power, but this particular incident is normal water with a bit of radiation. It is well below our regulatory and other limits.” Apparently, the nuclear industry was unable to get its story straight this time around. According to Mr. Luxat, there is no radiation involved with this water spill. But Mr. Gruetzner has admitted that there is. As an employee of OPG, it would not seem to be to his advantage to makes such an admission, so we can assume with great probability that there is, at the very least, some radiation now polluting Lake Ontario. As Gordon Edwards, spokesperson for the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, stated, “That water came from the spent fuel bays right into Lake Ontario. The spent fuel bays in Japan are currently the source of some of the greatest radiation exposures. If there is an accident in Pickering, the fact that there is a direct pathway from the spent fuel bay into Lake Ontario should be quite alarming.” Cause for great concern indeed. With two radiation-related accidents in only a few weeks, and a confirmed cover-up in both cases, one could almost begin to wonder if there is more to all this than meets the eye. Regardless, this new radioactive contamination should be watched closely and dealt with immediately. However, the minister told reporters on Tuesday that he does not know where it is — if it is in milk or in the air — and when it got here. Radioactive iodine has been discovered in milk in the eastern United States, according to New Democratic MPP France Gelinas (Nickel Belt) who brought the issue up during question period. read more ...
cover up in Canada cont. read more ... |
| Your Health and Governmernt cover up... - Wednesday, April 13, 2011Dr. Blaylock: Japanese Radiation Could Pose Risk to U.S. - Newsmax.com | Dr. Blaylock says the radiation could pose a cancer risk, and explains steps to take to protect against the damaging effects of radiation exposure.
Jim Meyers and Ashley Martella
Newsmax.com
April 13, 2011 If a radiation cloud from Japan’s damaged nuclear reactors eventually reaches the western United States, it could pose a threat to American crops and the people who eat them, nationally known neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D., tells Newsmax. Dr. Blaylock also says the radiation could pose a cancer risk, and explains steps to take to protect against the damaging effects of radiation exposure. Blaylock is a health practitioner, lecturer, and editor of Newsmax.com’s “Blaylock Wellness Report.” His books include “Nuclear Sunrise,” which examines the threat nuclear radiation poses.
Fukushima radiation taints US milk supplies at levels 300% higher than EPA maximums - Natural News | New EPA data continues to show increasingly high for radioactive elements in milk and water samples.
Ethan A. Huff,
Natural News
April 12, 2011 The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to release new data showing that various milk and water supply samples from across the US are testing increasingly high for radioactive elements such as Iodine-131, Cesium-134, and Cesium-137, all of which are being emitted from the ongoing Fukushima Daiichia nuclear fallout. As of April 10, 2011, 23 US water supplies have tested positive for radioactive Iodine-131 (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/4ig7-…), and worst of all, milk samples from at least three US locations have tested positive for Iodine-131 at levelsexceeding EPA maximum containment levels(MCL) (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/pkfj-…). As far as the water supplies are concerned, it is important to note that the EPA isonlytesting for radioactive Iodine-131. There are no readings or data available for cesium, uranium, or plutonium — all of which are being continuously emitted from Fukushima, as far as we know — even though these elements are all much more deadly than Iodine-131. Even so, the following water supplies have thus far tested positive for Iodine-131, with the dates they were collected in parenthesis to the right: Los Angeles, Calif. – 0.39 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Baxter), Penn. – 0.46 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Belmont), Penn. – 1.3 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Queen), Penn. – 2.2 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Muscle Shoals, Al. – 0.16 pCi/l (3/31/11) Niagara Falls, NY – 0.14 pCi/l (3/31/11)
Denver, Colo. – 0.17 pCi/l (3/31/11)
Detroit, Mich. – 0.28 pCi/l (3/31/11)
East Liverpool, Oh. – 0.42 pCi/l (3/30/11)
Trenton, NJ – 0.38 pCi/l (3/29/11) Painesville, Oh. – 0.43 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Columbia, Penn. – 0.20 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (4442), Tenn. – 0.28 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (772), Tenn. – 0.20 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (360), Tenn. – 0.18 pCi/l (3/29/11) Helena, Mont. – 0.18 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Waretown, NJ – 0.38 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Cincinnati, Oh. – 0.13 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Pittsburgh, Penn. – 0.36 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Oak Ridge (371), Tenn. – 0.63 pCi/l (3/28/11) Chattanooga, Tenn. – 1.6 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Boise, Id. – 0.2 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Richland, Wash. – 0.23 pCi/l (3/28/11) Again, these figures donotinclude the other radioactive elements being spread by Fukushima, so there is no telling what theactualcumulative radiation levels really were in these samples. The figures were also takentwo weeks ago, and were only just recently reported. If current samples were taken at even more cities, and if the tests conducted included the many other radioactive elements besides Iodine-131, actual contamination levels would likely be frighteningly higher. Stock up with Fresh Food that lasts with eFoodsDirect (AD) But in typical government fashion, the EPAstillinsists that everything is just fine, even though an increasing amount of US water supplies are turning up positive for even just the radioactive elements for which the agency is testing — and these levels seem to be increasing as a direct result of the situation at the Fukushima plant, which continues to worsen with no end in sight (http://www.naturalnews.com/032035_F…). Water may be the least of our problems, however. New EPA data just released on Sunday shows that at least three different milk samples — all from different parts of the US — have tested positive for radioactive Iodine-131 at levels thatexceed the EPA maximum thresholds for safety, which is currently set at 3.0 pico Curies per Liter (pCi/l). In Phoenix, Ariz., a milk sample taken on March 28, 2011, tested at 3.2 pCi/l. In Little Rock, Ark., a milk sample taken on March 30, 2011, tested at 8.9 pCi/l, which is almostthree times the EPA limit. And in Hilo, Hawaii, a milk sample collected on April 4, 2011, tested at 18 pCi/l, a levelsix times the EPA maximum safety threshold. The same Hawaii sample also tested at19 pCi/l for Cesium-137, which has a half life of 30 years(http://www.naturalnews.com/031992_r…), and a shocking24 pCi/l for Cesium-134, which has a half life of just over two years (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/pkfj-…). Why is this milk contamination significant? Milk, of course, typically represents the overall condition of the food chain because cows consume grass and are exposed to the same elements as food crops and water supplies. In other words, when cows’ milk starts testing positive for high levels of radioactive elements, this is indicative ofradioactive contamination of the entire food supply. And even with the milk samples, the EPA insanely says not to worry as its 3.0 pCi/l threshold is allegedly only for long-term exposure. But the sad fact of the matter is that the Fukushima situation isalready a long-term situation. Not only does it appear that the Fukushima reactor cores are continuing to melt, since conditions at the plant have not gotten any better since the earthquake and tsunami, but many of the radioactive elements that havealready been releasedin previous weeks have long half lives, and have spread halfway around the world. The other problem with the EPA’s empty reassurances that radiation levels are too low to have a negative impact on humans is the fact thatthe agency does not even have an accurate grasp on the actual aggregate exposure to radiation from all sources (water, food, air, rain, etc.). When you combine perpetual exposure from multiple sources with just the figures that have already been released, there is a very real threat of serious harm as a result of exposure. The EPA and other government agencies are constantly comparing Fukushima radiation to background and airplane radiation in an attempt to minimize the severity of exposure, even though these aretwo completely different kinds of radiation exposure.
No safe level of radiation from nuclear fallout
Background and airplane radiation is an external emitter of radiation, while Fukushima-induced radiation in food and water is an internal emitter. The former, which is considered “normal” radiation, hits your body from the outside, while the lattergoes directly inside your body and into your digestive tract. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the immense difference between the two, and the much more severe consequences associated with literally ingesting radiation verses having it hit your skin. In reality,there really is no safe level of radiation. No matter how many times the EPA and others repeat the lie that radiation levels are too low to have any significant impact,the statement itself is patently false. Many experts, including Jeff Patterson, DO, former President of Physicians for Social Responsibility, have stated that radiation exposure at any level is unsafe, and they are correct. “There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period,” said Patterson. “Exposure to radionuclides, such as Iodine-131 and Cesium-137, increases the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.” And now that radioactive levels in some areas have actually exceeded EPA maximums, Patterson’s statement is even more chilling. So while the mainstream media continues its near-total blackout on Fukushima, the situation is actually becoming more severe than it has ever been. Time will tell how severe the long-term effects of this disaster will be, but one thing is for sure –Fukushima radiation cannot and should not be taken lightly.. Sources for this story include: http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon… |
| Top Scientist: Fukushima Meltdown Could Trigger Atomic Explosion - Tuesday, April 12, 2011A British professor and expert on the health effects of ionizing radiation told Alex Jones today evidence points toward a nuclear explosion occurring at the Fukushima Daiichi complex. Two explosions at the plant in March were described as hydrogen gas explosions by Japanese officials and the corporate media.
Professor Chris Busby on the Alex Jones Show, April 12, 2011. Citing data collected by two Russian scientists, Professor Chris Busby told Alex Jones and his audience the explosions at Fukushima were nuclear. The Russian scientists, Sergey A. Pakhomov and Yuri V. Dubasov of the VG Khlopin Radium Institute in Saint Petersburg, examined data related to the explosion at Chernobyl.
Citing data collected by two Russian scientists, Professor Chris Busby told Alex Jones and his audience the explosions at Fukushima were nuclear. The Russian scientists, Sergey A. Pakhomov and Yuri V. Dubasov of the VG Khlopin Radium Institute in Saint Petersburg, examined data related to the explosion at Chernobyl.
Japanese nuclear safety agency raises crisis level of Fukushima Daiichi power plant accident from 5 to 7. Using ratios of the radionuclides Xenon 133 and Xenon 133m which they measured by gamma spectrometer, the Russians demonstrated that the Chernobyl explosion was a fission criticality explosion and not principally a hydrogen explosion as has been claimed. “I believe that the explosion of the No 3 reactor may have also involved criticality but this must await the release of data on measurements of the Xenon isotope ratios,” he writes in a statement on Fukushima and Chernobyl emailed to Infowars.com. Busby further notes that the surface contamination and of dose rates 60 kilometers out from the Fukushima site on March 17 exceeded that released at Chernobyl. He explains in his statement that the damaged reactors at Fukushima “are now continuing to fission. It is hoped that there will be no separation of plutonium and possible nuclear explosion. I feel that this is unlikely now.” Short of an actual plutonium explosion, the reactors remain open to the air and will continue to “fission and release radionuclides for years unless something drastic is done.” Dr. Busby noted a precedent for the dire scenario now unfolding – a nuclear explosion at a plutonium production reprocessing plant in the former Soviet Union in 1957. The incident at the Mayak facility was the second-worst nuclear accident in history after the Chernobyl disaster. The explosion released 50-100 tonnes of high-level radioactive waste and contaminated a huge territory in the eastern Urals. The Soviets kept the explosion secret for 30 years. According to a report on the accident, about 400,000 people in the region were irradiated following the explosion and other incidents at the plant. Dr. Busby told Alex Jones that short of actual isotope readings, he cannot definitely state that the explosions at Fukushima were nuclear, although he believes they were. “We don’t have evidence of that,” he concluded, “we would need to have the Xenon isotope ratios.” read more ... |
| What information are you really getting from Governments on the Japan' Crisis - Tuesday, April 12, 2011Japanese Commission: Nuclear Crisis as Bad as Chernobyl - Osha Gray Davidson | Previously, the commission held that the amount of radiation released from FDI warranted only a level 5 designation on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Osha Gray Davidson
Forbes
April 12, 2011 
The Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission (JNSC) has decided to raise the threat level posed by the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi (FDI) nuclear power plant to equal the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl, according to the state-run television network, NHK.
Previously, the commission held that the amount of radiation released from FDI warranted only a level 5 designation on the International Nuclear Event Scale (which runs from 1 to 7). The 1979 U.S. meltdown at Three Mile Island is also rated a five. Although the commission believes the total amount of radioactive material released into the environment in Japan is less than what was released from Chernobyl, it now considers the amount sufficient to warrant the highest possible designation because of two additional factors. Read entire article
Fukushima Introduces Deadly Strontium Into Environment - Kurt Nimmo | Radioactive strontium causes leukemia. Japan has admitted the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is on par with the one at Chernobyl. At the same time, Japan’s science and technology ministry reports strontium, a heavy radioactive metal that is a catalyst for leukemia, has been detected around the crippled reactors. In addition to leukemia, strontium causes cancers of the bone, nose, lung, and skin. Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
April 12, 2011 Japan has admitted the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is on par with the one at Chernobyl. At the same time, Japan’s science and technology ministry reports strontium, a heavy radioactive metal that is a catalyst for leukemia, has been detected around the crippled reactors. In addition to leukemia, strontium causes cancers of the bone, nose, lung, and skin.
See 20 years after Chernobyl: The ongoing health effects. Other deadly radioactive elements released included iodine, cesium and plutonium. The alpha emitter plutonium is especially deadly. Plutonium 239 has a high half-life of around 24,000 years. Plutonium transforms into americium and enters the water table. It can contaminate a water supply for centuries. The half life of americium is 433 years. Cesium has a tendency for adhesion to particulates in soil and sediment, making it less mobile than strontium. Like calcium, strontium enters the human body through plant and animal products and is mainly deposited in teeth and bones. New blood is formed in the bone marrow. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood. Strontium is much more mobile and soluble in water than cesium. Following the Chernobyl nuclear accident, strontium was detected in the ground. Experts believe that 80 percent of the strontium released by the stricken Chernobyl reactor entered the food cycle. The corporate media is basically ignoring the news that strontium is now being introduced into the environment. This is part of a larger pattern by the media to play down what will certainly be the worst nuclear disaster in history.
Cesium-137 forecast shows high altitude radiation cloud concentrating over California, western US on April 12 - Potential dispersion of the radioactive cloud after a nuclear accident in Fukushima, EURAD project via Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Cologne, April 11, 2011. ENE News
April 12, 2011 Potential dispersion of the radioactive cloud after a nuclear accident in Fukushima, EURAD project via Rhenish Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Cologne, April 11, 2011: Potential dispersion of the radioactive cloud over The Northern Hemisphere, Surface, April 11-13 This animation displays a potential dispersion of the radioactive cloud (Caesium 137 Isotope) after a nuclear accident in reactor Fukushima I. The continuous release rate is very uncertain, thus the calculations have to be interpreted qualitatively.
Fukushima radiation taints US milk supplies at levels 300% higher than EPA maximums -The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to release new data showing that various milk and water supply samples from across the US are testing increasingly high for radioactive elements such as Iodine-131, Cesium-134, and Cesium-137, all of which are being emitted from the ongoing Fukushima Daiichia nuclear fallout.
Ethan A. Huff,
Natural News
April 12, 2011 The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to release new data showing that various milk and water supply samples from across the US are testing increasingly high for radioactive elements such as Iodine-131, Cesium-134, and Cesium-137, all of which are being emitted from the ongoing Fukushima Daiichia nuclear fallout. As of April 10, 2011, 23 US water supplies have tested positive for radioactive Iodine-131 (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/4ig7-…), and worst of all, milk samples from at least three US locations have tested positive for Iodine-131 at levelsexceeding EPA maximum containment levels(MCL) (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/pkfj-…). As far as the water supplies are concerned, it is important to note that the EPA isonlytesting for radioactive Iodine-131. There are no readings or data available for cesium, uranium, or plutonium — all of which are being continuously emitted from Fukushima, as far as we know — even though these elements are all much more deadly than Iodine-131. Even so, the following water supplies have thus far tested positive for Iodine-131, with the dates they were collected in parenthesis to the right: Los Angeles, Calif. – 0.39 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Baxter), Penn. – 0.46 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Belmont), Penn. – 1.3 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Philadelphia (Queen), Penn. – 2.2 pCi/l (4/4/11)
Muscle Shoals, Al. – 0.16 pCi/l (3/31/11)
Niagara Falls, NY – 0.14 pCi/l (3/31/11)
Denver, Colo. – 0.17 pCi/l (3/31/11)
Detroit, Mich. – 0.28 pCi/l (3/31/11)
East Liverpool, Oh. – 0.42 pCi/l (3/30/11)
Trenton, NJ – 0.38 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Painesville, Oh. – 0.43 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Columbia, Penn. – 0.20 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (4442), Tenn. – 0.28 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (772), Tenn. – 0.20 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Oak Ridge (360), Tenn. – 0.18 pCi/l (3/29/11)
Helena, Mont. – 0.18 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Waretown, NJ – 0.38 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Cincinnati, Oh. – 0.13 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Pittsburgh, Penn. – 0.36 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Oak Ridge (371), Tenn. – 0.63 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Chattanooga, Tenn. – 1.6 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Boise, Id. – 0.2 pCi/l (3/28/11)
Richland, Wash. – 0.23 pCi/l (3/28/11) Again, these figures donotinclude the other radioactive elements being spread by Fukushima, so there is no telling what theactualcumulative radiation levels really were in these samples. The figures were also takentwo weeks ago, and were only just recently reported. If current samples were taken at even more cities, and if the tests conducted included the many other radioactive elements besides Iodine-131, actual contamination levels would likely be frighteningly higher.But in typical government fashion, the EPAstillinsists that everything is just fine, even though an increasing amount of US water supplies are turning up positive for even just the radioactive elements for which the agency is testing — and these levels seem to be increasing as a direct result of the situation at the Fukushima plant, which continues to worsen with no end in sight (http://www.naturalnews.com/032035_F…). Water may be the least of our problems, however. New EPA data just released on Sunday shows that at least three different milk samples — all from different parts of the US — have tested positive for radioactive Iodine-131 at levels thatexceed the EPA maximum thresholds for safety, which is currently set at 3.0 pico Curies per Liter (pCi/l). In Phoenix, Ariz., a milk sample taken on March 28, 2011, tested at 3.2 pCi/l. In Little Rock, Ark., a milk sample taken on March 30, 2011, tested at 8.9 pCi/l, which is almostthree times the EPA limit. And in Hilo, Hawaii, a milk sample collected on April 4, 2011, tested at 18 pCi/l, a levelsix times the EPA maximum safety threshold. The same Hawaii sample also tested at19 pCi/l for Cesium-137, which has a half life of 30 years(http://www.naturalnews.com/031992_r…), and a shocking24 pCi/l for Cesium-134, which has a half life of just over two years (http://opendata.socrata.com/w/pkfj-…). Why is this milk contamination significant? Milk, of course, typically represents the overall condition of the food chain because cows consume grass and are exposed to the same elements as food crops and water supplies. In other words, when cows’ milk starts testing positive for high levels of radioactive elements, this is indicative ofradioactive contamination of the entire food supply. And even with the milk samples, the EPA insanely says not to worry as its 3.0 pCi/l threshold is allegedly only for long-term exposure. But the sad fact of the matter is that the Fukushima situation isalready a long-term situation. Not only does it appear that the Fukushima reactor cores are continuing to melt, since conditions at the plant have not gotten any better since the earthquake and tsunami, but many of the radioactive elements that havealready been releasedin previous weeks have long half lives, and have spread halfway around the world. The other problem with the EPA’s empty reassurances that radiation levels are too low to have a negative impact on humans is the fact thatthe agency does not even have an accurate grasp on the actual aggregate exposure to radiation from all sources (water, food, air, rain, etc.). When you combine perpetual exposure from multiple sources with just the figures that have already been released, there is a very real threat of serious harm as a result of exposure. The EPA and other government agencies are constantly comparing Fukushima radiation to background and airplane radiation in an attempt to minimize the severity of exposure, even though these aretwo completely different kinds of radiation exposure. No safe level of radiation from nuclear falloutBackground and airplane radiation is an external emitter of radiation, while Fukushima-induced radiation in food and water is an internal emitter. The former, which is considered “normal” radiation, hits your body from the outside, while the lattergoes directly inside your body and into your digestive tract. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the immense difference between the two, and the much more severe consequences associated with literally ingesting radiation verses having it hit your skin. In reality,there really is no safe level of radiation. No matter how many times the EPA and others repeat the lie that radiation levels are too low to have any significant impact,the statement itself is patently false. Many experts, including Jeff Patterson, DO, former President of Physicians for Social Responsibility, have stated that radiation exposure at any level is unsafe, and they are correct. “There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period,” said Patterson. “Exposure to radionuclides, such as Iodine-131 and Cesium-137, increases the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.” And now that radioactive levels in some areas have actually exceeded EPA maximums, Patterson’s statement is even more chilling. So while the mainstream media continues its near-total blackout on Fukushima, the situation is actually becoming more severe than it has ever been. Time will tell how severe the long-term effects of this disaster will be, but one thing is for sure –Fukushima radiation cannot and should not be taken lightly.. Sources for this story include: http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon… |
| Japan's never-ending story on Nuclear energy and the fallout - Monday, April 11, 2011Another Earthquake, Tsunami Hit Japan - ABC News | A 6.6-magnitude aftershock rattled Japan today on the one-month anniversary of the twin disasters.
ABC News
April 11, 2011 Related: On Monday Japan expanded the evacuation zone around its crippled nuclear plant because of high levels of accumulated radiation. A 6.6-magnitude aftershock rattled Japan today on the one-month anniversary of the twin disasters that left at least 25,000 dead and officials scrambling to prevent a meltdown at damaged nuclear reactors. A 3-foot tsunami warning was issued after the temblor hit the northeast coast 5:16 p.m. local time. All advisories and warnings were lifted about an hour later, according to local Japanese TV. Read entire article
No end in sight for Fukushima disaster as bureaucrats battle the laws of physics - Mike Adams | Readings coming out of Fukushima are admittedly “immeasurable.” Mike Adams
Natural News
April 11, 2011 As the famous physicist Dr. Michio Kaku said on April 4th, “The situation at Fukushima is relatively stable now… in the same way that you are stable if you hang by your fingernails off a cliff, and your fingernails begin to break one by one.” (http://bigthink.com/ideas/37705). That same article also refers to the Fukushima damage assessment by the NRC’s Nuclear Safety Team, which concluded that “cooling to the core of Unit 1 might be blocked by melted fuel and also by salt deposits left over from the use of sea water.”
That’s the same sea water, of course, that has been sprayed onto the fuel rods to prevent them from going Chernobyl. The unfortunate side effect of boiling off tens of thousands of gallons of sea water, however, is that is leaves behind a lot of salt. Japan now appears to have an abundance of radioactive sea salt that’s unfortunately caked on top of the spent fuel rods and actually preventing much more water from reaching those rods. In a sense, spraying salt water on spent nuclear fuel rods is sort of like spraying them with a slow-acting insulation. It’s only a matter of time, it seems, before that insulation make it impossible for water to keep the rods below meltdown temperatures. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry has mysteriously stopped reporting the dry well radiation reading in Reactor No. 1. Why would they do that? Because no readings are far more politically correct than extremely high readings, of course. It all happened right after an “off-the-charts” reading of radiation in the drywell of Reactor No. 1, which TEPCO officials quickly dismissed as a broken radiation gauge (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/1110…). Sure, it probably is broken by this point due to its exposure to massive doses of radiation! The only way a drywell reading can attain such high readings, by the way, is if the nuclear fuel rods have breached their containment core. Some of the readings coming out of Fukushima are admittedly “immeasurable,” reported NHK World: “A radiation monitor at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says workers there are exposed to immeasurable levels of radiation. The monitor told NHK that no one can enter the plant’s No. 1 through 3 reactor buildings because radiation levels are so high that monitoring devices have been rendered useless. He said even levels outside the buildings exceed 100 millisieverts in some places.” (http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english…) The truth gets diluted far more than the radiation You’re not supposed to know any of that, of course. Although the mainstream media claims that all the deadly iodine-131 gets dissipated across the Pacific Ocean before it can reach North America, the greater truth is that the facts about Fukushima are diluted and dispersed long before they reach our shores. The result is an ongoing dangerous cover-up of what’s really happening there. The mainstream media, of course, is blatantly engaged in an effort to suppress any scary-sounding information that might emerge about Fukushima. For example, a Forbes blog entitled “Radiation Detected In Drinking Water In 13 More US Cities, Cesium-137…” which contained the text, “Milk samples from Phoenix and Los Angeles contained iodine-131 at levels roughly equal to the maximum contaminant level permitted by EPA…” has mysteriously disappeared, leaving just an empty shell of a page in its place. See the following link to find out if they’ve brought it back yet: http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon… The story, fortunately, has been preserved over at PrisonPlanet.com: http://www.prisonplanet.com/radiati… With a few exceptions, the only stories that appear to be allowed to remain online are those that claim current radiation levels are “harmless.” For example, this story from AZCentral.com parrots the usual “don’t worry about radioactive milk” line: Testing of milk samples in Arizona shows radiation levels that are thousands of times lower than a federal threshold that would cause authorities to take action, a state oversight agency said Friday. While the Arizona Department of Health Services has logged some concerns from the public following the Japanese nuclear incident, there is no reason to stop drinking milk, a department spokeswoman said. “I don’t want to trivialize it, but it is trivial,” Laura Oxley said. “It’s thousands of times below any action level that we would need to do.” (http://www.azcentral.com/business/a…) Here come the pumping trucks Have you ever seen an airplane swallow a truck? Check out the photos at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art… There, you’ll see a massive Russian cargo plane gulping down a 95-ton “Putzmeister” concrete pumping truck that’s being flown to Fukushima in order to spray more water on the nuclear fuel rods which continue to spew deadly radiation. The fuel rods are still in danger of reaching criticality (further meltdown with explosions), so the plan for now is to keep hosing them down with water. This water, of course, becomes highly radioactive and eventually gets released into the Pacific Ocean. Right now, the amount of radioactive water being released tops 50,000 tons (over 12 million gallons). (http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english…) This process of dumping radioactive water into the Pacific will reportedly continue for decades unless some other clever solution can somehow be put in place. Alongside all this, Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), has mastered the art of Jedi mind tricks, saying, “We cannot say what the outlook is for the next stage… As soon as possible we would like to achieve stable cooling and set a course towards controlling radiation.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011…) In other words, these are not the droids you’re looking for. Notice, if you read between the lines, he is admitting the radiation is NOT controlled, and stable cooling has NOT been achieved. And really all they’re doing is hoping to have a plan on how to somehow achieve that. Far from stable Remember when we were told two weeks ago that Fukushima was “on the verge of stabilizing?” How’s that for clever spin? In contrast, ABC News (which has probably had the very best reporting among the MSM) recently carried this sentence: “A confidential assessment by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission obtained by The New York Times suggests that the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant is far from stable. The report concludes that the Fukushima plant is facing a wide array of fresh threats that could persist indefinitely.” (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/fukush…) It continues with: …though a major leak in a maintenance pit of the plant has been plugged, there is still a great likelihood that significant amounts of radioactive water will continue to be released into the Pacific Ocean; the worldwide Just-In-Time manufacturing cycle has been interrupted; and increased levels of radiation have been detected on the U.S. East Coast. Remarkably, CNN is now carrying a story that appears to openly acknowledge the Fukushima situation may be all but hopeless. Written by Matt Smith, the article says: (http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/a…) A month into the crisis, the utility acknowledges, there is no end in sight. The problems are so far “beyond the design capacity” of the plant that the Japanese are working in uncharted territory, said Michael Friedlander, a former senior operator at U.S. nuclear power plants. “No nuclear power plant has ever considered the inability to get on long-term core cooling for more than a week, much less three weeks,” Friedlander said. Murphy’s Law strikes again Ah, that pesky Murphy has worked his magic yet again, it seems, interfering with the best-laid plans of arrogant men who stupidly believe they have conquered the laws of physics by having a backup diesel generator nearby. Now we’re hearing announcements out of Japan that all future nuclear power plants must have TWO diesel generators on site, not just one. Murphy laughs at such ignorance. How is two diesel generators better than one when they’re both fifteen feet under water? That such a preposterous suggestion is even being considered proves once again just how utterly out of touch with reality the nuclear industry remains. Why not just pass a government rule that outlaws earthquakes? It would have approximately the same effect.
How nuclear apologists mislead the world over radiation - Soon after the Fukushima accident last month, I stated publicly that anuclear event of this size and catastrophic potential could present a medical problem of very large dimensions.
Related: Nuclear Expert Calls Global Warming Alarmist Monbiot “Criminally Irresponsible” For Downplaying Fukushima Helen Caldicott
London Guardian
April 11, 2011 Soon after the Fukushima accident last month, I stated publicly that anuclear event of this size and catastrophic potential could present a medical problem of very large dimensions. Events have proven this observation to be true despite the nuclear industry’s campaign about the “minimal” health effects of so-called low-level radiation. That billions of its dollars are at stake if the Fukushima event causes the “nuclear renaissance” to slow down appears to be evident from the industry’s attacks on its critics, even in the face of an unresolved and escalating disaster at the reactor complex at Fukushima. Proponents of nuclear power – including George Monbiot, who has had a mysterious road-to-Damascus conversion to its supposedly benign effects – accuse me and others who call attention to the potential serious medical consequences of the accident of “cherry-picking” data and overstating the health effects of radiation from the radioactive fuel in the destroyed reactors and their cooling pools. Yet by reassuring the public that things aren’t too bad, Monbiot and others at best misinform, and at worst misrepresent or distort, the scientific evidence of the harmful effects of radiation exposure – and they play a predictable shoot-the-messenger game in the process. To wit: 1) Mr Monbiot, who is a journalist not a scientist, appears unaware of the difference between external and internal radiation Let me educate him. Full article here |
| Mainstream media regurgitates exact same news on Fukushima, word for word - Monday, April 11, 2011Where can you go to find “trusted” news about Fukushima? Well according to Google News, only the mainstream sources are “trusted” these days. That’s why they’ve removed nearly all alternative news sites from their news index, leaving only the monotone, mindless canned mainstream news sources for people to read. Mike Adams,
Natural News
April 11, 2011 Where can you go to find “trusted” news about Fukushima? Well according to Google News, only the mainstream sources are “trusted” these days. That’s why they’ve removed nearly all alternative news sites from their news index, leaving only the monotone, mindless canned mainstream news sources for people to read. But just how mindless are these mainstream news sources? To find out, I did a Google search on spent fuel rods and plutonium, and the results were a massive regurgitation of the exact same news from multiple mainstream news sources. See the search result yourself with the screen shot we took at:http://www.naturalnews.com/images/G… Here are the news story titles you see in the Google search results: Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – Yahoo! News
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – Physorg.com
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – Washington Post
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – Fox News
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – Forbes.com
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – CBS News
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – San Francisco Gate
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – Boston Globe
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – MSNBC
Plutonium in troubled reactors, spent fuel pools – Denver Post … followed by a long list of local TV news stations regurgitating the exact same news, word for word. Copy and paste the propaganda Now, keep in mind that these news sources are considered the “trusted” news sources by Google News and most consumers. And yet, when you really get right down to it, these are all news sites that merely copy and paste the same exact stories from Associated Press or Reuters. In other words, these sites aren’t even writing their own news! They are worse than bloggers who at least offer some unique analysis of the news. Google says its search engine penalizes sites for carrying “duplicate content.” And yet we see no evidence of penalties for these mainstream news sites that rip off the same exact news, word for word, from the AP and Reuters news wires. After all, these are the top-ranking search results — and they’re all exactly the same! If anybody other than the mainstream media did this, they would be immediately accused of running a “content farm” and be banned from the Google index. For some reason, Google seems to allow the mainstream media a free pass on the mass duplication of the exact same content. In fact, Google News actually seems to favor it! The more you parrot AP and Reuters, the more they love ya! Do you have original news content? They aren’t interested in that. But if you copy and paste Associated Press stories, you get top billing! Did you drink your homogenized, pasteurized news for breakfast? Over the last few months, Google News says it has been “cleaning up” its listing of news sources over the last few months by dropping what it calls “low quality” news sites (which means any independent or alternative media source, of course). The resulting news on Google News is a homogenized, dumbed-down compilation of idiot phrases parroted by the mindless mainstream media. If you want to read the same exact news, over and over again, written by the centrally-controlled AP and Reuters reporters who don’t even understand the laws of physics (http://www.naturalnews.com/031935_m…), then you now know where to get it! If you want independent, intelligent analysis of world events, however, you’ll need to get your news from truly independent sources like NaturalNews.com or Infowars.com. Some of the best sources of information on the Fukushima disaster in particular are www.lucaswhitefieldhixson.com and www.fairewinds.com Make no mistake, folks: Google News used to offer a diverse ecosystem of intelligent news and analysis. It used to be one of my favorite sources for news research. But today, it has sadly become just another mouthpiece for monotonous disinfo regurgitated word for word by all the same conformist media sources. Until Google News decides to bring back independent news sources, I have completely stopped using it, and I advise everyone else to do the same. After all, if I want regurgitated propaganda from the news wires, I can just turn on CNN! read more ... |
| The Japan Crisis: CONT: - Friday, April 08, 2011
Ongoing Cover Up of Nuclear Crisis By Governments and Nuclear Power Companies - Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen points out that American and Japanese governments and nuclear companies are covering up many core facts concerning the Japanese nuclear crisis.
Washington’s Blog
April 8, 2011 I’ve previously documented that Japanese seismologists and nuclear engineers warned years ago that the risks of a large-scale nuclear accident in Japan were high, with one Japanese seismologist warning in 2004 that the risk of a nuclear accident was: Like a kamikaze terrorist wrapped in bombs just waiting to explode.
I also showed that whistleblowers have been ignored: Years before Fukushima engineer Mitsuhiko Tanaka blew the whistle on the fact that Tepco covered up a defective containment vessel, the above-quoted Japan Times article blew the whistle: Yoichi Kikuchi, a Japanese nuclear engineer who also became a whistle-blower, has told me personally of many safety problems at Japan’s nuclear power plants, such as cracks in pipes in the cooling system from vibrations in the reactor. He said the electric companies are “gambling in a dangerous game to increase profits and decrease government oversight.” [Kei Sugaoka, a Japanese-American senior field engineer who worked for General Electric in the United States, who previously blew the whistle on Tepco's failure to inform the government of defects at the reactors] agreed, saying, “The scariest thing, on top of all the other problems, is that all nuclear power plants are aging, causing a deterioration of piping and joints which are always exposed to strong radiation and heat.”
Kikuchi and Sugaoka were ignored. Just like American whistle-blowers are being ignored.
And after the March 11th disaster, the Japanese government has been covering up information. Indeed, nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen points out that American and Japanese governments and nuclear companies are covering up many core facts concerning the Japanese nuclear crisis. Closing Ranks: The NRC, the Nuclear Industry, and TEPCo. Are Limiting the Flow of Information from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo. Arnie Gundersen Discusses Radioactive Water Leaking Into the Pacific Ocean with CNN’s John King from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo. Tepco Tepco is covering up crucial information, including: - After Gundersen pointed out that the existence of tellurium at Fukushima implies that re-criticality is coming, Tepco pulled the data, saying that the data is no longer accurate
- Tepco is denying that a blue neutron beam – also indicating re-criticality – has been observed
- Tepco has tried to deny the report of an eminent nuclear scientist that reactor number 2 had suffered a meltdown
Foreign Nuclear Companies It’s not just Tepco. Foreign nuclear companies are covering up as well. For example, the large french nuclear corporation, Areva, has privately determined that: - At reactors 1 through 3, the nuclear fuel reached 5,000 degrees, beyond the melting point of steel and the zirconium cladding of the spent fuel rods
- Containment in reactor number 2 was breached by hydrogen explosions. While the roof of reactor number 2 looks good (see photograph below), the hydrogen explosion blew out the containment, like a sneeze with your nose pinched and mouth closed will pop your ears:
Crops and dairy products are polluted out to 50 kilometers from the nuclear site, well beyond what emergency zone is - Unit 4 experienced “core melt in fresh air”. The core melted because the fuel pool was cracked in the earthquake. The largest release is from reactor number 4. Because there is no containment as to the materials in the spent fuel rods, all fission products can be volatilized
- The person who prepared the Areva report said: “Clearly, we are witnessing one of the greatest disasters of our time.”
But publicly, Areva is saying no problem, nuclear is safe. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC staff privately identified significant problems and dangers at Fukushima, including: - A lot of “mud” inside the reactor, from injection of seawater
- The weight of building with all of the water in them might make it unstable in case of another earthquake
- Recriticitality of nuclear fuel.
- Plutonium ejected from fuel pools during the hydrogen explosion. NRC thinks that plutonium was ejected a couple of miles from the reactor
But the NRC is telling Congress and the public that the situation is under control. Incidentally, Reuters reported yesterday: U.S. regulators privately have expressed doubts that some of the nation’s nuclear power plants are prepared for a Fukushima-scale disaster, undercutting their public confidence since Japan’s nuclear crisis began, documents released by an independent safety watchdog group show. Internal Nuclear Regulatory Commission e-mails and memos obtained by the Union of Concerned Scientists questioned the adequacy of the back-up plans to keep reactor cooling systems running if off-site power were lost for an extended period. Those concerns seem to contrast with the confidence U.S. regulators and industry officials have publicly expressed after the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl began to unfold on March 11, UCS officials said on Wednesday. “While the NRC and the nuclear industry have been reassuring Americans that there is nothing to worry about — that we can do a better job dealing with a nuclear disaster like the one that just happened in Japan — it turns out that privately NRC senior analysts are not so sure,” said Edwin Lyman, a UCS nuclear expert.
Inside report from Fukushima nuclear reactor evacuation zone Videonewscom | A Japanese journalist, Tetsuo Jimbo, ventured through the evacuation zone and filed a video report.
Fukushima, Japan – The Japanese government has issued the evacuation order on March 12 for the residents living within the 20 kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Since then, residents have left their homes, and the “no man land” has been out of touch with the rest of the world. A Japanese journalist, Tetsuo Jimbo, ventured through the evacuation zone last Sunday, and filed the following video report. He says that, inside the evacuation zone, homes,building, roads and bridges, which were torn down by Tsunami, are left completely untouched, and the herd of cattle and pet dogs, left behind by the owners, wonders around the town while the radiation level remains far beyond legal limits. |
| A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan - Thursday, April 07, 20117.4 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Fukushima, Tsunami Expected Matt Ryan | A 7.4 magnitude earthquake has just struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake has just struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, 118km (78 miles) north of Fukushima, 40km offshore. The quake was reportedly strong enough to shake buildings in Tokyo. The Japan meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for a wave of up to one meter. The tsunami would impact a region previously devastated by last month’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake which has left a nuclear power plant in an unstable state, suffering meltdown, explosions, and leaking harmful radiation in to the ocean. Recent troubles with the power plant include a hydrogen buildup that experts believe may result in another explosion if left untreated. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on all available data, “a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is not a tsunami threat to Hawaii.” More information will be posted as the situation unfolds. 
UPDATE 11.02 CST – Sky News is still reporting on the blue light, calling it an “Earthquake light” and promising to seek an explanation from a seismologist. UPDATE 10.59 CST – More on that mysterious blue light. It can be seen at 38 seconds into the video below:
UPDATE 10.56 CST - TSUNAMI ALERT LIFTED UPDATE 10.50 CST - Video taken in Tokyo of a blinding blue light witnessed on the horizon at the time of the quake is causing a stir. Sky News reports that the light could be a phenomenon thought to occur due to intense electromagnetic activity with the movement of tectonic plates. UPDATE 10.22 CST - No damage, casualties in Miyagi Pref. as of 11:55 Thurs.: police UPDATE 10.20 CST – The quake has been revised down to a mag 7.1. UPDATE 10.19 CST – Japanes Weather agency sees Miyagi quake as aftershock of March 11 temblor. UPDATE 10.16 CST – Water is still being injected into the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima plant. UPDATE 10.15 CST – Workers at the Fukushima plant have been moved to higher ground, according to TEPCO officials. UPDATE 10.13 CST – BBC news is reporting that the waves from the quake have already hit parts of the shoreline. ** A strong earthquake measuring 7.4 has struck 25 miles off the Japanese coast, close to the 9.0 quake that hit last month. The Japanese government has issued a Tsunami warning and is expecting a wave up to 2 meters high imminently. No impact has yet been detected at the Fukushima nuclear plant according to Japanese news. Developing… http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/at00ljadqj.php
read more ... |
| Fukushima Daiichi Radioactive Seawater Model – Radiation Spreads Throughout Pacific Ocean - Thursday, April 07, 2011 |
| Fukushima Workers Try to Plug Radiation Leaks With Old Newspapers - Monday, April 04, 2011Steve Watson | Mayor, Governor slam government as tons of radioactive water is poured into Pacific.Steve Watson
Infowars.com
April 4, 2011 The impact of the radioactive material on sea life could be catastrophic as over 11, 500 tons of contaminated water is now being intentionally released into the Pacific ocean by workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in a last ditch desperate effort to clean out the area. Meanwhile, local officials have roundly condemned the Japanese government’s response to the crisis as workers have been scrambling to plug cracks in a reactor pit using anything they can find, including bits of shredded newspaper, sawdust and super glue. Highly radioactive water is flowing from the pit into the ocean, with the latest figures confirming radiation levels of contaminated seawater at 4,000 times above the safety limit. 
Yesterday, TEPCO, the company running the plant released the above image of the toxic water pouring into the ocean. After efforts to fill the crack with concrete failed, workers resorted to more desperate measures, as reported in the London Telegraph: “From the afternoon, the workers began pouring polymeric powder, sawdust, newspaper – things we could think of to clog up the holes,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the nuclear safety agency. “So far, there has not been any clear indication that the volume of leaking water has been reduced.” he added. AP reports that workers “went farther up the system and injected sawdust, three garbage bags of shredded newspaper and a polymer — similar to one used to absorb liquid in diapers” You could not make this stuff up. The company says it needs to release the toxic water already leaking into the sea to create room to store even more highly contaminated water building up under complex. If the crack in the pit is not fixed, this material will presumably also leak outside the plant. Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s top spokesman, Yukio Edano, said in a televised press conference: “We have no choice but to release water tainted with radioactive materials into the ocean as a safety measure.” As a result of the massive water dumping operations, “highly radioactive waste water has accumulated at turbine buildings at Fukushima Daiichi, especially at the reactor unit two,” said another TEPCO official. “There is a need to release already stored water in order to accept the additional waste water” totaling 10,000 tons, as well as 1,500 tons of water from pits under reactor units five and six, he said. TEPCO also announced early yesterday that the level of radiation in the air in the pit at reactor two was 1000 mSv/hour. This is an astonishing amount given that, according to the IAEA, the limit for public radiation exposure is just 1 mSv per year: The dose limits for practices are intended to ensure that no individual is committed to unacceptable risk due to radiation exposure. For the public the limit is 1 mSv in a year, or in special circumstances up to 5 mSv in a single year provided that the average does over five consecutive years does not exceed 1 mSv per year.
Essentially, the level in the pit where the water is running into the sea is one thousand times higher per hour than an entire year of safe exposure. While workers on a suicide mission armed only with trash and super glue scramble to do what they can, still the Japanese government maintains there is no risk to public health because the material will “dissipate”. The governor of Fukushima has slammed Japan’s nuclear agency for failing to provide accurate and timely radiation data. Japan Today reports: Fukushima Gov Yuhei Sato expressed anger at the central government’s nuclear safety agency on Sunday for its late release of radioactivity data related to local farm produce, shipments of which have been partly restricted amid the ongoing nuclear crisis. [...] It takes a few days for the results of each test to be released, according to Sato. ‘‘Can’t you increase the number of examiners? The lives of farmers are at stake. It’s a matter of whether they can live tomorrow,’’ the governor said during a meeting of the prefectural disaster relief task force attended by an official of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. Sato said the results should be released in about a day and criticized the central government for being late in lifting restrictions, saying, ‘‘I wonder if our sense of urgency is being conveyed to the government…It is irritating.’‘
In addition, the mayor of Minami Soma, a city some 25 kilometers from the nuclear plant, issued an SOS message to the world, pleading for help in the wake of a near total lack of aid or information from the Japanese government. The mayor noted that the situation is one of complete lockdown and said the city was “as if under starvation tactics” at the mercy of the government:
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| MELTDOWN: Plutonium Found In Ground At Fukushima As Cover Up Continues - Monday, March 28, 2011Japanese news is reporting that most highly radioactive isotope known to man, plutonium, has been discovered in the soil in multiple different locations at the ailing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Even so, the Japanese government and the plant operators maintain there is no risk to human health. Deadly radioactive water leaking into soil and ocean Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
March 28, 2011 Japanese news is reporting that most highly radioactive isotope known to man, plutonium, has been discovered in the soil in multiple different locations at the ailing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Even so, the Japanese government and the plant operators maintain there is no risk to human health. Authorities have confirmed that three different kinds of plutonium have been discovered. From Kyodo news: Plutonium has been detected in soil at five locations at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday. The operator of the nuclear complex said that the plutonium is believed to have been discharged from nuclear fuel at the plant, which was damaged by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. While noting that the concentration level does not pose a risk to human health, the utility firm said it will strengthen monitoring on the environment in and around the nuclear plant.
Further details suggest that this information has been known for some time and has been kept quiet until today. Reuters reports: TEPCO vice-president Sakae Muto told journalists at the company’s latest briefing that test results showing the plutonium came from samples taken a week ago.
Indeed, as we reported last week, experts believe that the presence of plutonium means that Reactor 3, which runs on MOX or Mixed Oxide fuel, a mixture of plutonium and uranium, is compromised. There are suggestions that the Japanese authorities knew this was the case a full two weeks ago on March 14, when the reactor was hit with a massive explosion that sent debris hurtling hundreds of feet into the air in an orange fireball. This report from the American Nuclear Society explains further the consequences of a plutonium leak from reactor 3.
Meanwhile, yesterday, officials retracted an announcement that radiation levels in the containment building of reactor number 2 had soared to 10 million times above normal. The retraction came hours after the initial announcement, however, and was corrected to 100,000 times over normal. It was not made clear what the error was, with TEPCO reporting on its website there was a “mistake in the assessment of the measurement of iodine-134.” In addition, new pools of radioactive water have been found in an underground tunnel linked to the number two reactor, sending radiation levels much higher than has previously been recorded. Hundreds of cubic meters of water is thought to have leaked from the reactor’s core, with radiation levels exceeding 1,000 millisieverts per hour. At a radiation level of 1,000 millisieverts per hour, people could suffer a decrease in the number of lymphocytes — a type of white blood cell — in just 30 minutes, and half could die within 30 days by remaining in such conditions for four hours, reports Kyodo. The tunnel is said to be between 55 to 70 meters away from the sea shore. The Japanese government has consistently said it does not believe that radioactive water is leaking into the soil or the sea. However, elevated radiation levels thousands of times above safety levels have been reported several hundred meters offshore. Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Sunday that a new measurement of seawater taken about 1,000 feet from the facility showed an iodine level 1,850.5 times the legal limit, higher than a reading taken the previous day. New readings from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, have also shown ocean contamination has spread about a mile (1.6 kilometers) farther north of the nuclear site, AP reports. In addition, water purifications plants across Japan have been told to stop taking in rainwater as radiation levels in the atmosphere continue to rise. The continually increasing evidence of a cover up makes you wonder just what kind of leaks the plant operators are spending more time trying to prevent. read more ... |
| Nuclear Expert Calls Global Warming Alarmist Monbiot “Criminally Irresponsible” For Downplaying Fuku - Monday, March 28, 2011Prominent nuclear and radiation expert Dr. Christopher Busby has slammed British global warming alarmist George Monbiot as being “criminally irresponsible” for writing a series of articles for the Guardian in which Monbiot downplays the threat of radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in a bid to shore up his claims about man-made climate change being a far deadlier concern. Dr. Christopher Busby calls Monbiot’s claims “total nonsense,” challenges British environmentalist to television debate 
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Monday, March 28, 2011 Prominent nuclear and radiation expert Dr. Christopher Busby has slammed British global warming alarmist George Monbiot as being “criminally irresponsible” for writing a series of articles for the Guardian in which Monbiot downplays the threat of radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in a bid to shore up his claims about man-made climate change being a far deadlier concern. In the wake of Fukushima, we have seen numerous self-proclaimed environmentalists who are normally so quick to raise the alarm about devastation caused by man-made global warming, actually downplaying the environmental concerns attached to the Fukushima crisis, radiation, and nuclear power in general. Chief amongst them is prominent British environmentalist George Monbiot, who in an article for the London Guardian last week entitled, Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power, wrote that critics of how Fukushima is being handled had, “wildly exaggerated the dangers of radioactive pollution”. “As a result of the disaster at Fukushima, I am no longer nuclear-neutral. I now support the technology,” added Monbiot. Monbiot’s bizarre nuclear “kool-aid” moment was perhaps written in haste at a time when he believed Japanese claims that the crisis was diminishing. But in the past few days, the situation at Fukushima has worsened considerably. Officials hastily retracted numbers yesterday which suggested that radiation levels in the containment building of reactor number 2 were an astounding 10 million times above normal. In addition, water purifications plants across Japan have been told to stop taking in rainwater as radiation levels in the atmosphere continue to rise. Monbiot’s rhetoric is a stark reminder that many leading environmentalists don’t give a damn about real threats to the environment, preferring instead to spend all their time obsessing about carbon dioxide emissions and thinking up new ways to exploit global warming fearmongering as a means of controlling every aspect of our lives. While weaving terrorizing scenarios about man-made climate change making whole areas of the planet uninhabitable, most notably the island of Tuvulu, which global warming alarmists already claim has been abandoned due to rising sea levels when in fact its population has doubled in the past three decades, alarmists like Monbiot don’t seem to be too fussed when real environmental catastrophes like Chernobyl really do make entire regions uninhabitable. Indeed, others have gone even further. Columnist Ann Coulter appeared on Fox News to ludicrously proclaim that exposure to radiation was “good for you”. Given that she’s so enamored with the apparent health benefits of radioactive fallout, which new studies blame for nearly a million cancer deaths in the 25 years since Chernobyl, we offered to send Coulter on an all-expenses paid holiday to Fukushima. We’ve not heard back from her. During an interview with Paul Joseph Watson on The Alex Jones Show, nuclear expert Dr. Christopher Busby savaged Monbiot for dismissing the innumerable health and environmental threats posed by radiation exposure. Busby is a British scientist and former Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risks. “I have to say that I know George Monbiot and he doesn’t know anything,” said Busby, adding that Monbiot’s claims were “total nonsense,” “tosh,” and that it was “criminally irresponsible for him to write what he writes given that he doesn’t know anything.” Busby also explained how Monbiot had approached him two years ago for information about the effects of low dose radiation and how he had gone to some length to write an article for Monbiot which he subsequently ignored. “He’s quite ignorant, he’s an ignorant person when it comes to this,” said Busby. “The nonsense he is writing now is much more dangerous because it’s in the middle of a crisis when people are being exposed to these radionuclides and becoming contaminated,” said Busby, before predicting a “very large and measurable increase in cancer and other ill health after this accident,” for people living in northern Japan and Tokyo. Busby, who warned that the situation at Fukushima was already worse than Chernobyl, openly challenged Monbiot to a live television debate on the issue. “I do court cases on this issue and win them, so the evidence is just massive that he’s wrong,” said Busby, adding, “I’ve researched this stuff for 20 years, I’ve written two research papers on it, I’ve studied epidemiological correlations between radiation and health – I know what I’m talking about, these people don’t know what they’re talking about,” he said. Watch the full interview below. The comments about Monbiot begin after the 13:30 mark.
read more ... |
| Highly radioactive spreads accross the globe - Monday, March 28, 2011
Highly radioactive water has leaked from a reactor turbine building at a stricken nuclear plant in Japan, the operator said Monday, adding to fears the liquid is seeping into the environment.
The Fukushima crisis continues to worsen by the day, with nuclear experts around the world finally realizing and admitting we’ve all been lied to. |
| Weather Models Show High Levels of Radiation Entering U.S. & Canada from Japan - Sunday, March 27, 2011Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
March 26, 2011 forecasts for march 2011 On Saturday, Yukiya Amano, the director of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency, said the Japanese nuclear crisis could go on for weeks, if not for months. 
Test conducted Friday showed iodine 131 levels in seawater 30 km (19 miles) from the coastal Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had spiked 1,250 times higher than normal. Japanese officialdom insisted this unusual level does not pose a threat to marine life or food safety, according to Reuters. “Ocean currents will disperse radiation particles and so it will be very diluted by the time it gets consumed by fish and seaweed,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior agency official. A number of countries have banned milk and produce from areas around the Fukushima Daiichi plant, while others have been monitoring Japanese seafood. Amano told the media the Japanese have no idea if the reactor cores and spent fuel were covered with the water needed to cool them and prevent the release of radiation. “More efforts should be done to put an end to the accident,” he said and was carefully not to criticize Japan’s lackadaisical response. An official from plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) told a Sunday news conference experts still are not certain where to put the contaminated water. Scientists quoted by the corporate media continue to insist that radioactive particles crossing the Pacific are far too diluted to cause any harm. In fact, scientists are complaining that the Japanese have not fowarded sufficient information on the nuclear meltdown. They say the quality and quantity of information coming out of Japan has left gaping holes in their understanding of the disaster nearly two weeks after it began. Independent researchers, however, dispute claims that the radiation now lofting over the northern hemisphere is not dangerous. The Weather Online website has posted a number animated models showing dangerous concentrations of iodine 131 and caesium 137 entering the United States with prevailing weather and the jet stream. The site notes that since the continuous release rate is very uncertain, the calculations have to be interpreted qualitatively. Here is a video posted earlier today showing the animations:
Addendum “An international advisory body has recommended the Japanese government temporarily raise the annual limit of radiation exposure for the general public in light of the ongoing crisis at the quake- and tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture,” reports The Mainichi Daily News. “The government stipulates that regular citizens in Japan should be exposed to no more than 1 millisievert of radiation per year, but the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) on March 21 recommended the limit be tentatively raised to 20 to 100 millisieverts per year, with the nuclear crisis showing no signs of abating.” The NGO said the level of permissible radiation should be increased “in order to prevent residents of Fukushima Prefecture from abandoning their hometowns.”
Doomsday Machine: Why Nuclear Will Never Be the Answer Andrew McKillop | The world’s civil nuclear power system is a giant-sized Chernobyl-type dirty bomb.
21st Century Wire
March 25, 2011 What the atomic energy lobby calls The Nuclear Renaissance is advance warning of uncontrolled and runaway financial and economic disaster. This adds on to vastly growing risks of industrial disaster like we have witnessed this month in Japan, nuclear weapons proliferation, and reactors turned into and used as massive Dirty Bombs while their wastes are recycled as Depleted Uranium ordnance. The so-called ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ could or might see as many as 225 new large-size reactors built in as many as 45 countries, through 2010-2020. World uranium demand – already at least 20 percent more than uranium mine supply – could almost double in the same period. Presently almost unknown to the public and ignored by the media, national security and even the concept and present reality of nation states is under threat. Nuclear accidents, nuclear weapons production, and financial disaster triggered by the nuclear subprime asset bubble now under way are direct challenges to the existence of nation states. Nuclear power has ever less credibility as its costs spiral upward, pumping ever growing amounts of taxpayers’ money to feed the beast in every country treading the nuclear path, as is shown by any rational analysis of the nuclear industry’s energy and economic facts. But the real strategic role of civil nuclear power, despite it being able to yield nuclear weapons in “a few screwdriver turns”, is now economic and financial. DOOMSDAY MACHINE: The risks of nuclear power far outweigh the benefits. Fast increasing numbers of civil reactors, uranium mines, fuel fabrication and reprocessing plants, waste fuel centres and “plutonium repositories” across the world have generated a surge of political and corporate, economic and finance sector elite support. Nuclear power is the new “No Alternative”, shading down and crowding out the reality that massive volumes and quantities of nuclear materials, in any country, destroy all reality of national defense and the nation state. The choice is simple: nuclear power or national defence. In the coming decade we will have to choose between the atom and the nation. Conventional war, like conventional nation states is not credible in a world with 45 or more nuclear power using states. Due to certain assured massive destruction of the economy when, or if , large reactors and nuclear installation are hit… conventional war is finished. Do our political leaders know this, as they sign ever bigger reactor and nuclear fuel contracts with a growing list of low income Emerging economy countries? How many politicians are factoring this into their decision making? CHERNOBYL – THE FINAL SOLUTION The world’s civil nuclear power system is a giant-sized Chernobyl-type dirty bomb offering no energy security or freedom from oil. Quantities of plutonium produced worldwide by civil reactors are already about 22 tons a year – enough for more than 2000 Hiroshima-sized bombs every year. By 2020 this could rise to 3500 per year. Oil saving due to the atom is negligible. In a fast growing number of countries both the size and complexity of nuclear installations is also rising fast. Reactor building costs and prices are exploding, with the inflation rate in 2010 close to 25 percent per year. Only a few types of reactor, especially underground or ‘hardened’ military reactors can resist a wide-body airplane crashing on them. Their costs are astronomic as shown by the European EPR, whose proud boast is that it could also resist a wide-body plane crash – at fantastic cost. But almost no reactor of any kind will resist entirely conventional ballistic missiles, conventional artillery shells, conventional anti-tank and anti-building munitions, and infantry launched or drone launched missiles. The reality is inescapable. All are totally vulnerable to operator error and IT safety system failures. Every single one of them is a potential Doomsday Machine. Reactors will also not resist worst-case seismic damage, as the Earth’s tectonic systems shift to a new long-term period of cooling climate and intensified volcanic activity, driving increased numbers of major seismic events. Due to the world’s uranium supply and fuel reprocessing system being totally fossil energy dependent, the vaunted claim of “Low Carbon Nuclear” is more of a marketing myth than the Friendly Atom. NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE We are promised or threatened the so-called Nuclear Renaissance. This is shorthand for a return to the rates of reactor orders and completions closer to those of the nuclear industry’s previous heydays and high times, dating from the first Oil Shock of the 1970s and by overdrive into the early 1980s. At the time and for 10 years one new reactor came on line every 17 days. Uranium prices and reactor construction costs exploded. The result was simple: the nuclear asset bubble imploded. The industry downsized, restructured, forced mergers took place, tens of thousands of jobs were lost – and Big Government, that is the taxpayers, paid for the party. Today, like the 1970s, nuclear power is again promoted as the fast track to energy independence - and for delivering supposedly Low Carbon energy to fight global warming from burning fossil fuels. To be sure, the rationale is bizarre: nuclear energy claims to deliver energy security, but there is massive import dependence for uranium supply in nearly all nations using civil nuclear power systems. This is perhaps because uranium exporter countries are not yet seen as “terror supporting regimes”, not yet accused of overcharging for their uranium exports. This will soon change as uranium prices spike up to unknown peaks. ATOMIC SURPRISES ARE BAD SURPRISES Nuclear boomers dream in print they have the Final Solution to all safety risks, cost limits and uranium fuel shortages, that might or could bar mankind’s route to nuclear powered Universal Prosperity. This essentially cornucopian dream – very ironically – came from the fusion of two supposedly total opposite world views. In the deep Cold War period of extreme American defence of capitalism, and extreme Soviet defence of totalitarian state control, through the 40 years from the late 1940s until 1989, both regimes placed all their military faith in nuclear weapons. Both also linked civil and military nuclear power, then fused them into a nuclear technological utopia. This ideology-spanning facet of the all nuclear solution, joining civil and military in a seamless web of myth, makes it unsurprising that China and India, and other big states, or would-be big states of today are fully embarked in the Nuclear Renaissance. INTERDEPENDENT: Both civil and military nuclear industries are joined at the hip. Certainly for the Big 5 UN Security Council declared nuclear weapons states, any pretence that civil nuclear, and military nuclear are not 100% linked and totally interdependent, is a complete farce. All the Big 5 Security Council states started their nuclear story with a fevered race to develop nuclear weapons, then made a few screwdriver turns to spin-off and start their civil nuclear systems - always with fantastic government cash subsidies. Despite this, by a strange form of mass schizophrenia among the political elites of these states, nuclear power is imagined to be cheap and economic – and of course… safe ! Yet, the reality of dirty bomb capability for each and every large sized reactor anywhere on earth, is stoically denied. So as we wait patiently in the shadow of the fallout cloud, the myth of the nation state continues. The permanent denial of civil and military nuclear power being one and the same has likely favoured the most proliferative-possible, most vulnerable-possible civil nuclear systems worldwide, both in the “old nuclear” countries, and in the 15 or more new nuclear states that the Nuclear Renaissance may bring. In any case, the historic reality of international wars started by one nation and fought against another nation is now obsolete. Any nation with sizeable nuclear installations on its home territory is vulnerable to devastating attack using entirely conventional, non-nuclear weapons of the type possessed by dozens of states and nations, today. This reality hides the awesome question: who will look after nuclear power using states when they have suffered economic, political and social meltdown in civil, international, or terror wars ? Who can step in to prevent worst-case damage all the nation’s nuclear plants and fuel facilities? If we ask the key question: “Can we be certain this awesome challenge is understood by our political elites and the opinion formers who control our press and media ?”, and still all we hear is silence, there is no answer. THE END OF NATIONS? The fully globalized economy is described by many as a certain death sentence for the nation state. Nuclear power proliferation sets the exact same No Future full stop for the nation. With a fully developed global nuclear power system the historical trend or social instinct of the nation state has no place and must disappear. To be sure, large nuclear reactors and facilities will surely serve, as they already do for Iran today as last-ditch anti-invasion defence, but they are also prepositioned enemy weapons for hostile opponents not necessarily wanting to invade and occupy. Only to destroy. The asymmetric war potential is almost open-ended. This can inject new themes for the flagging ”Bin Laden industry” of technology-terror potboiler books, films and docu-dramas, but the reality of nuclear power’s threat to the nation state must be addressed. In a civil war, which reactor will get hit, first ? So what are we left with? The linked illusions of the nation state and national security must be abandoned, if the world’s political and corporate elites want to pursue the chimera of cheap and safe atomic energy. Otherwise our leaders will have to stay hopeful and ignore the civil nuclear overkill threat, while they continue to pump state funds into the economic failure of nuclear power. When we wake up to hear the incredible and fantastic worst case has already happened- as we have these last few weeks with Japan’s own major accident, or later because of operator error, or even in the shape of purposeful military or terror attack on large civil nuclear installations, it will be too late – much too late. read more ... |
| Radiation 10 Million Times Above Normal Level At Fukushima - Sunday, March 27, 2011Get rid of Nuclear Power for good, it kills
The Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has reported that radiation level in the containment building of reactor number 2 at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant is an astounding 10 million times above normal.
While the mass media has all but dropped its interest in the Fukushima crisis to focus on Libya and meaningless side-issues like the death of Elizabeth Taylor, the nuclear nightmare only worsens, as Japanese authorities admit that reactor number 3, which is the only reactor to contain MOX plutonium, is now leaking.
"Japan's nuclear regulator said one reactor core at the quake-damaged Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant may be cracked and leaking radiation," reports Bloomberg.
"It's very possible that there has been some kind of leak at the No. 3 reactor," Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman at the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said in Tokyo today. While radioactive water at the unit most likely escaped from the reactor core, it also could have originated from spent fuel pools stored atop the reactor, he said."
The water now leaking from reactor number 3 has radiation levels 10,000 times above the level of normal reactor water. Yesterday, two Fukushima technicians received instant radioactive burns when they stepped in the puddle of water, as it burned right through their boots.
The leakage of plutonium and uranium from reactor number 3 is the nightmare scenario that many experts predicted would turn the situation at Fukushima from a crisis to a catastrophe.
The dire consequences of any major leak in reactor number 3 are exemplified by the fact that 4,000 tons of water have been dumped on the reactor, five times more than any of the other five units.
Reactor number 3 runs on MOX or Mixed Oxide fuel, a mixture of plutonium and uranium. Plutonium is the most deadly radioactive isotope known to man, and MOX is two million times more deadly than normal enriched uranium. The Half-life of Plutonium-239 in MOX is 24,000 years and just a few milligrams of P-239 escaping in a smoke plume will contaminate soil for tens of thousands of years.
On March 14, reactor number 3 was hit with a massive explosion that sent debris hurtling hundreds of feet into the air in an orange fireball. Authorities claimed that the explosion was caused by a build up of hydrogen pressure and that the blast did not damage the reactor containment unit. Is the damage to the reactor only recent, or have the Japanese been covering up the leak for almost two weeks since the explosion?
According to the Nuclear Information Resource Center (NIRS), "In the event of such accidents (involving the accidental release of MOX), if the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) recommendations for general public exposure were adhered to, only about one mg of plutonium may be released from a MOX facility to the environment. As a comparison, in [sic] uranium fabrication facility, 2kg (2,000,000 mg) of uranium could be released in the same radiation exposure."
In the case of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the vast majority of the plutonium was not released during the explosion and subsequent fire.
As part of the bizarre sweeping apathy that the mass media has cultivated over the last week surrounding the Fukushima crisis, the threat of MOX plutonium has been completely downplayed.
Similarly, the longer the crisis drags on and the worse it gets, the less the media pays attention, despite disturbing reports of yellow rain now falling in Tokyo and surrounding areas. Just like the victims of Chernobyl, Japanese authorities are telling the people that the substance is merely pollen.
Radiation emitted by the Fukushima reactors is already approaching Chernobyl levels.
"Iodine-131 is being released at daily levels 73 per cent of those seen after the 1986 disaster. The daily amount of caesium-137 released from Fukushima Daiichi is around 60 per cent of the amount released from Chernobyl," reports the New Scientist.
According to a new study by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), "Nearly 25 years after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, exposure to radioactive iodine-131(I-131, a radioactive isotope) from fallout may be responsible for thyroid cancers that are still occurring among people who lived in the Chernobyl area and were children or adolescents at the time of the accident."
Despite UN and World Health Organization studies that claim Chernobyl led to a maximum of 9,000 deaths and 200,000 cases of radiation sickness, more contemporary studies have shown that nearly a million people have been killed from cancers caused by the disaster over the course of the last 25 years. They don't give a rats ass abvout people as long as they get to keep their nuclear posion that kills people. Officialdom soon backtracked and said those radiation readings were not accurate and that new tests had been ordered. “The number is not credible,” said TEPCO. Last week, Japan’s nuclear agency said levels of radioactive iodine in sea near the plant had risen to 1,850 times the usual level. It claims one-half a liter of the water contains the same amount of radiation that a person can safely be exposed to in a year. The United Nations’ nuclear agency has warned the crisis could go on for months. It now appears the crisis will go on indefinitely. TEPCO said on Sunday it is not working to resolve the crisis. “We are examining the cause of this, but no work is being done there because of the high level of radiation,” said a TEPCO spokesman. “High levels of caesium and other substances are being detected, which usually should not be found in reactor water. There is a high possibility that fuel rods are being damaged,” he added. Appearing on Sunday talk shows, cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said radioactive water is “almost certainly” seeping from a reactor core. read more ... |
| TEPCO Admits To Another Cover Up As Radioactivity Appears in Seawater - Saturday, March 26, 2011Zero Hedge | Radioactivity at a concentration 1,250.8 times than the legal limit.
March 26, 2011 The latest news out of Fukushima confirms fears that irradiated water containment at the radioactive plant has been complete breached, after Radioactive iodine-131 at a concentration 1,250.8 times the legal limit was detected Friday morning in a seawater sample taken around 330 meters south of the plant, near the drainage outlets of the four troubled reactors, the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Saturday. As Kyodo updates: “The level rose to its highest so far in the survey begun this week, after remaining around levels about 100 times the legal limit. It is highly likely that radioactive water in the plant has found its way into the sea, TEPCO said.” It’s all good though: the government has a prepared strawman for this unprecedented surge in radioactivity as well.”Radioactive materials ”will be significantly diluted” by the time they are consumed by marine species, the agency said, adding it would not have a significant impact on fishery products as fishing is not being conducted in the area within 20 kilometers of the plant because the government has issued a directive for residents in the zone to evacuate.” But none of this matter as we get the latest confirmation that no news coming out of the stricken plant can be trusted: “TEPCO’s Fukushima office acknowledged Saturday that it had known earlier that the radiation in the underground level of the turbine building of one of the reactors was extremely high, but had not made the information available to pertinent parties.” Mike Adams: Fukushima Reactor No. 3 Now Leaking Water at 10,000 Times Normal
See the rest here. From Reuters: ” Officials said iodine 131 levels in seawater 30 km (19 miles) from the coastal nuclear complex were within acceptable limits established by regulations and the contamination posed little risk to aquatic life. “Ocean currents will disperse radiation particles and so it will be very diluted by the time it gets consumed by fish and seaweed,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior official from Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. Despite that reassurance, the disclosure may well heighten international concern over Japanese seafood exports. Several countries have already banned milk and produce from areas around the Fukushima Daiichi plant, while others have been monitoring Japanese seafood.” So fear not – instead of having 10 fins, that yummy piece of toro you are injesting will sport only a substantially “diluted” 5. Also, expect to see Kan eating seaweed and sashimi, and washing it down with radioactive tap water on TV any minute to prove just how safe everything really is. More from Kyodo: The level rose to its highest so far in the survey begun this week, after remaining around levels about 100 times the legal limit. It is highly likely that radioactive water in the plant has found its way into the sea, TEPCO said. Radioactive materials ”will be significantly diluted” by the time they are consumed by marine species, the agency said, adding it would not have a significant impact on fishery products as fishing is not being conducted in the area within 20 kilometers of the plant because the government has issued a directive for residents in the zone to evacuate. TEPCO is planning to inject fresh water into pools storing the spent nuclear fuel at the plant to prevent crystallized salt from seawater already injected from hampering the smooth circulation of water and thus diminishing the cooling effect. It has begun injecting fresh water into the reactor containers of the No. 1 and No. 3 as well as No. 2 reactors. At the same time, the company is trying to remove the pools of water containing highly concentrated radioactive substances that may have seeped from either the reactor cores or the spent fuel pools. On Thursday, three workers were exposed to water containing radioactive materials 10,000 times the normal level at the turbine building connected to the No. 3 reactor building. On Friday, a pool of water with a similarly high concentration of radioactive materials was found in the No. 1 reactor’s turbine building, causing some restoration work to be suspended. Similar pools of water were also found in the turbine buildings of the No. 2 and No. 4 reactors, measuring up to 1 meter and 80 centimeters deep, respectively. Those near the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors were up to 40 cm and 1.5 meters deep, respectively.
And the most dramatic example of strategic idiocy: all the hoopla about dumping tons of water on the reactors will now have to be undone: While analyzing the radioactivity levels of the pools from the water found in the No. 2 and No. 4 reactors, TEPCO will remove the water in all four reactor units to reduce the risk of more workers being exposed to radioactive substances, it said. The risk would hinder efforts to restore the plant’s crippled cooling functions, which are crucial to overcoming the crisis, the government’s nuclear safety agency said.
But the most infuriating development is the latest disclosure from TEPCO that once again it covered up critical data. TEPCO’s Fukushima office acknowledged Saturday that it had known earlier that the radiation in the underground level of the turbine building of one of the reactors was extremely high, but had not made the information available to pertinent parties. Edano criticized the utility’s handling of the data, saying unless it reports necessary information to authorities in a timely manner, ”the government will not be able to give appropriate instructions and (TEPCO) will make workers, and eventually the public, distrustful” of the firm.
So aside from the constant lies and misinformation, the public can be assued that all is well.
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| Radiation: Nothing to See Here? - Friday, March 25, 2011Administration spokespeople continuously claim “no threat” from the radiation reaching the US from Japan, just as they did with oil hemorrhaging into the Gulf. Perhaps we should all whistle “Don’t worry, be happy” in unison. A thorough review of the science, however, begs a second opinion. Brian Moench, MD
Truthout
Friday, March 25, 2011 Administration spokespeople continuously claim “no threat” from the radiation reaching the US from Japan, just as they did with oil hemorrhaging into the Gulf. Perhaps we should all whistle “Don’t worry, be happy” in unison. A thorough review of the science, however, begs a second opinion. That the radiation is being released 5,000 miles away isn’t as comforting as it seems. The Japanese reactors hold about 1,000 times more radiation than the bombs dropped over Hiroshima.(1) Every day, the jet stream carries pollution from Asian smoke stacks and dust from the Gobi Desert to our West Coast, contributing 10 to 60 percent of the total pollution breathed by Californians, depending on the time of year. Mercury is probably the second most toxic substance known after plutonium. Half the mercury in the atmosphere over the entire US originates in China. It, too, is 5,000 miles away. A week after a nuclear weapons test in China, iodine 131 could be detected in the thyroid glands of deer in Colorado, although it could not be detected in the air or in nearby vegetation.(2) The idea that a threshold exists or there is a safe level of radiation for human exposure began unraveling in the 1950s when research showed one pelvic x-ray in a pregnant woman could double the rate of childhood leukemia in an exposed baby.(3) Furthermore, the risk was ten times higher if it occurred in the first three months of pregnancy than near the end. This became the stepping-stone to the understanding that the timing of exposure was even more critical than the dose. The earlier in embryonic development it occurred, the greater the risk. A new medical concept has emerged, increasingly supported by the latest research, called “fetal origins of disease,” that centers on the evidence that a multitude of chronic diseases, including cancer, often have their origins in the first few weeks after conception by environmental insults disturbing normal embryonic development. It is now established medical advice that pregnant women should avoid any exposure to x-rays, medicines or chemicals when not absolutely necessary, no matter how small the dose, especially in the first three months.
“Epigenetics” is a term integral to fetal origins of disease, referring to chemical attachments to genes that turn them on or off inappropriately and have impacts functionally similar to broken genetic bonds. Epigenetic changes can be caused by unimaginably small doses – parts per trillion – be it chemicals, air pollution, cigarette smoke or radiation. Furthermore, these epigenetic changes can occur within minutes after exposure and may be passed on to subsequent generations.(4)(5)(6) The Endocrine Society, 14,000 researchers and medical specialists in more than 100 countries, warned that “even infinitesimally low levels of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, indeed, any level of exposure at all, may cause endocrine or reproductive abnormalities, particularly if exposure occurs during a critical developmental window. Surprisingly, low doses may even exert more potent effects than higher doses.”(7) If hormone-mimicking chemicals at any level are not safe for a fetus, then the concept is likely to be equally true of the even more intensely toxic radioactive elements drifting over from Japan, some of which may also act as endocrine disruptors. Many epidemiologic studies show that extremely low doses of radiation increase the incidence of childhood cancers, low birth-weight babies, premature births, infant mortality, birth defects and even diminished intelligence.(8) Just two abdominal x-rays delivered to a male can slightly increase the chance of his future children developing leukemia.(9) By damaging proteins anywhere in a living cell, radiation can accelerate the aging process and diminish the function of any organ. Cells can repair themselves, but the rapidly growing cells in a fetus may divide before repair can occur, negating the body’s defense mechanism and replicating the damage. Busy schedule? Click here to keep up with Truthout with free email updates. Comforting statements about the safety of low radiation are not even accurate for adults.(10) Small increases in risk per individual have immense consequences in the aggregate. When low risk is accepted for billions of people, there will still be millions of victims. New research on risks of x-rays illustrate the point. Radiation from CT coronary scans is considered low, but, statistically, it causes cancer in one of every 270 40-year-old women who receive the scan. Twenty year olds will have double that rate. Annually, 29,000 cancers are caused by the 70 million CT scans done in the US.(11)(12) Common, low-dose dental x-rays more than double the rate of thyroid cancer. Those exposed to repeated dental x-rays have an even higher risk of thyroid cancer.(13) Even properly functioning nuclear plants emit a steady stream of radiation into nearby water and atmosphere, which can be inhaled directly or ingested from soil contact, plants or cows milk. Many studies confirm higher rates of cancers like childhood leukemia, and breast and thyroid cancer among people who live in the same counties as nuclear plants, and among nuclear workers.(3) Beginning with Madam Curie, the story of nuclear power is one where key players have consistently miscalculated or misrepresented the risks of radiation. The victims include many of those who worked on the original Manhattan Project, the 200,000 soldiers who were assigned to eye witness our nuclear tests, the residents of the Western US who absorbed the lion’s share of fallout from our nuclear testing in Nevada, the thousands of forgotten victims of Three Mile Island or the likely hundreds of thousands of casualties of Chernobyl. This could be the latest chapter in that long and tragic story when, once again, we were told not to worry. Footnotes: 1. “Fukushima Daiichi reactors contain radiation equal to a thousand Hiroshima bombs,” Vancouver Observer, March 14, 2011; Ira Helfand, Robert Alvarez, Ken Bergeron and Peter Bradford (former member of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission), on behalf of Physicians for Social Responsibility. 2. Rosenthal E. Radiation, “Once Free, Can Follow Tricky Path,” The New York Times, March 21, 2011. 3. International Commission on Radiological Protection. 4. Huang YC, Schmitt M, Yang Z, Que LG, Stewart JC, Frampton MW, Devlin RB, “Gene expression profile in circulating mononuclear cells after exposure to ultrafine carbon particles,” Inhal Toxicol, 2010 May 27. (Epub ahead of print.) 5. Baccarelli A, Wright R, Bollati V, et al, “Rapid DNA Methylation Changes after Exposure to Traffic Particles.” Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., April 2009; 179: 572 – 578. 6. Zhong Y, Carmella S, Upadhyaya P, Hochalter JB, et al, “Immediate Consequences of Cigarette Smoking: Rapid Formation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Diol Epoxides Chem. Res. Toxicol.,” Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/tx100345x publication date (web): December 27, 2010. 7. “Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement,” 2009. 8. Bartley K, Metayer C, Selvin S, et al, “Diagnostic X-rays and risk of childhood leukaemia,” Int. J. Epidemiol. (2010) 39(6): 1628-1637, first published online October 1, 2010, doi:10.1093/ije/dyq162. 9. Bailey H, Armstrong B, de Klerk N, et al, “Exposure to Diagnostic Radiological Procedures and the Risk of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia,” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, November 2010, 19:2897-2909; Published online first, September 22, 2010. 10. Shuryak I, Sachs R, Brenner D., “Cancer Risks After Radiation Exposure in Middle Age,” JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst Volume102, Issue 21, Pp. 1628-1636. 11. Berrington de González A, Mahesh M, Kim K, et al, “Projected Cancer Risks From Computed Tomographic Scans Performed in the United States in 2007,” Arch Intern Med, December 14/28, 2009; 169: 2071 – 2077. 12. Smith-Bindman R, Lipson J, Marcus R, et al, “Radiation Dose Associated With Common Computed Tomography Examinations and the Associated Lifetime Attributable Risk of Cancer,” Arch Intern Med., 2009; 169(22): 2078-2086. 13. Memon A, Godward S, Williams D, et al, “Dental x-rays and the risk of thyroid cancer: A case-control study,” Acta Oncologica, May 2010, Vol. 49, No. 4: 447–453. |
| United Nations Nuclear Bank - Friday, March 25, 2011The UN nuclear bank is another piece of UN Agenda 21, the blueprint for total control and depopulation. Cassandra Anderson
Infowars.com
March 24, 2011 The media hailed Warren Buffett last December for donating $50 million dollars toward a United Nations nuclear bank with control over uranium enrichment. The intent is control over nuclear weapons and nuclear power by the elites who are the true forces behind the UN. 
The UN nuclear bank will be under the authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is NOT independent; it was created through a UN treaty and answers to the UN and the UN Security Council. The fully funded UN nuclear bank does not require nations to stop uranium enrichment, which was the original plan; however, the final terms have not been set. The fuel bank will sell enriched uranium for power plants to countries in “good standing“. Therefore, only countries who kow-tow to the UN and IAEA will be provided with enriched uranium.
The United Nations is a supranational entity that answers to no one. After WWII, the UN was sold to the public as an voluntary collection of nations committed to peace and ending war. The UN pretends to vote on issues democratically, but its true goal is a totalitarian world government ruled by the elites at the top. They are happy to bully countries and go to war over resources, as evidenced by the UN resolution last week to attack Libya. They claim that war is necessary for peace. The UN nuclear bank will consolidate power under the UN for nuclear energy and weaponry, which is another piece of UN Agenda 21, the blueprint for total control and depopulation. UN WORLD DOMINANCE
Four things are needed to take political control over a population (the UN has set its sights on the entire world): 1. Money
2. An army
3. Control over the media
4. Control over education If you have enough money and an army, then control over the media and education are useful but not essential. UN NUCLEAR BANK FINANCING Warren Buffet proposed the UN nuclear bank and made a self-serving “donation” of $50 million while demanding matching funds of $100 million from governments. Obama provided $50 million in US taxpayer money and the EU, UAE, Kuwait and Norway made up the rest. At $150 million, world domination is astonishingly cheap! Buffett, a proponent of depopulation, was celebrated as a hero in the media because most people are ignorant about the UN’s true goals. Warren Buffett is in the energy utility business and owns MidAmerican Energy; his motivation for “donating” to the UN nuclear bank could benefit him later with regard to a UN monopoly over nuclear power for electricity. Taxpayers will ultimately fund the UN nuclear bank that is in opposition to public interest and freedom. This trick is accomplished through foundations convincing governments to regulate or take action on an issue and then passing the cost on to taxpayers (click here to find out how individuals create public policy that has been used for depopulation). Buffett proposed the UN nuclear bank through a foundation that he provides funding, called the ‘Nuclear Threat Initiative‘ (NTI). Ted Turner, known for supporting depopulation, is co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Sam Nunn, a former US Senator, is the other co-chair of NTI. NUCLEAR SECURITY PROJECTNunn is the front man working with Cold-War hawks Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State, George Schulz, former Defense Secretary and William Perry, former Secretary of State in the ‘Nuclear Security Project‘ to dismantle nuclear weapons. This project is supported by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and many others. Nunn, Kissinger, Schulz and Perry are aggressively pushing the dismantling of nuclear weapons through the US-Russia-UN START Treaty and the UN Non-Proliferation Treaty. The objective of these types of treaties, according to Department of State Publication 7277, is to disarm states to a “point where no state would have the military power to challenge the strengthened UN Peace Force….” Buffett has provided funding for the Nuclear Security Project, too. Buffett said that an atomic attack on the US by mid-century is a “virtual certainty”. In my opinion, with psychopaths like Buffett, Turner and Kissinger (a Rockefeller lieutenant) at the helm, this is practically unavoidable. CONCLUSION As sovereign countries dismantle their nuclear weapons under UN treaties, the UN is simultaneously building its nuclear arsenal by way of the nuclear bank. Additionally, the UN is locking in another uranium enrichment monopoly over nuclear power for electricity, which will also increase “interdependency of nations.” SOLUTIONS: Michael Shaw, UN Agenda 21 expert and president of FreedomAdvocates.org, says: The UN has a plethora of schemes to advance the goal of world government. The most important of these is Agenda 21 Sustainable Development. This is the global to local movement designed under the cover of green to transform our systems of government and economics. Every county in America has adopted its Sustainable plan moving us all closer to the one world order where your unalienable rights are no longer politically recognized. While there is little the citizen can do to halt the UN’s control of uranium, the typical American can do much toward exposing the local application of the UN’s march under the local Agenda 21 protocol. In particular, Americans need to understand city alliances with the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). ICLEI is an NGO, accredited by the United Nations for the purpose of implementing Agenda 21 at the local level. Such contracts have been entered into by over 600 American cities. This is treasonous. In short, the Sustainable objective is the abolition of private property, education for global citizenship, and the use of technology to control human action. As ordinary people become aware of Agenda 21 hope rises that the Republic can be reestablished and that then the US can sever its ties with the United Nations and end the globalists’ one world ambition. For full analysis of Agenda 21 Sustainable Development visit www.FreedomAdvocates.org. Cassandra Anderson’s article first appeared on the MORPHCity website.
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| Japanese Authorities Admit Deadly MOX Plutonium Reactor Is Leaking - Friday, March 25, 2011Paul Joseph Watson | Has cover-up of leakage been ongoing since massive March 14 explosion? While the mass media has all but dropped its interest in the Fukushima crisis to focus on Libya and meaningless side-issues like the death of Elizabeth Taylor, the nuclear nightmare only worsens, as Japanese authorities admit that reactor number 3, which is the only reactor to contain MOX plutonium, is now leaking. “Japan’s nuclear regulator said one reactor core at the quake-damaged Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant may be cracked and leaking radiation,” reports Bloomberg. “It’s very possible that there has been some kind of leak at the No. 3 reactor,” Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman at the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said in Tokyo today. While radioactive water at the unit most likely escaped from the reactor core, it also could have originated from spent fuel pools stored atop the reactor, he said.” The water now leaking from reactor number 3 has radiation levels 10,000 times above the level of normal reactor water. Yesterday, two Fukushima technicians received instant radioactive burns when they stepped in the puddle of water, as it burned right through their boots. The leakage of plutonium and uranium from reactor number 3 is the nightmare scenario that many experts predicted would turn the situation at Fukushima from a crisis to a catastrophe. The dire consequences of any major leak in reactor number 3 are exemplified by the fact that 4,000 tons of water have been dumped on the reactor, five times more than any of the other five units. Reactor number 3 runs on MOX or Mixed Oxide fuel, a mixture of plutonium and uranium. Plutonium is the most deadly radioactive isotope known to man, and MOX is two million times more deadly than normal enriched uranium. The Half-life of Plutonium-239 in MOX is 24,000 years and just a few milligrams of P-239 escaping in a smoke plume will contaminate soil for tens of thousands of years. On March 14, reactor number 3 was hit with a massive explosion that sent debris hurtling hundreds of feet into the air in an orange fireball. Authorities claimed that the explosion was caused by a build up of hydrogen pressure and that the blast did not damage the reactor containment unit. Is the damage to the reactor only recent, or have the Japanese been covering up the leak for almost two weeks since the explosion? According to the Nuclear Information Resource Center (NIRS), “In the event of such accidents (involving the accidental release of MOX), if the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) recommendations for general public exposure were adhered to, only about one mg of plutonium may be released from a MOX facility to the environment. As a comparison, in [sic] uranium fabrication facility, 2kg (2,000,000 mg) of uranium could be released in the same radiation exposure.” In the case of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the vast majority of the plutonium was not released during the explosion and subsequent fire. As part of the bizarre sweeping apathy that the mass media has cultivated over the last week surrounding the Fukushima crisis, the threat of MOX plutonium has been completely downplayed. Similarly, the longer the crisis drags on and the worse it gets, the less the media pays attention, despite disturbing reports of yellow rain now falling in Tokyo and surrounding areas. Just like the victims of Chernobyl, Japanese authorities are telling the people that the substance is merely pollen. Radiation emitted by the Fukushima reactors is already approaching Chernobyl levels. “Iodine-131 is being released at daily levels 73 per cent of those seen after the 1986 disaster. The daily amount of caesium-137 released from Fukushima Daiichi is around 60 per cent of the amount released from Chernobyl,” reports the New Scientist. According to a new study by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Nearly 25 years after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, exposure to radioactive iodine-131(I-131, a radioactive isotope) from fallout may be responsible for thyroid cancers that are still occurring among people who lived in the Chernobyl area and were children or adolescents at the time of the accident.” Despite UN and World Health Organization studies that claim Chernobyl led to a maximum of 9,000 deaths and 200,000 cases of radiation sickness, more contemporary studies have shown that nearly a million people have been killed from cancers caused by the disaster over the course of the last 25 years. read more ... |
| Radiation Is Beyond Zone, Report Says - Friday, March 25, 2011Levels of radioactivity from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex are above government limits for infants in some areas outside the plant’s 12-mile evacuation zone, according to the latest estimate to fuel an international debate over how close civilians should be allowed to the plant. JURO OSAWA
Wall St Journal
March 25, 2011 TOKYO—Levels of radioactivity from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex are above government limits for infants in some areas outside the plant’s 12-mile evacuation zone, according to the latest estimate to fuel an international debate over how close civilians should be allowed to the plant. The new estimate, by a state-funded monitoring body, came as fears over Tokyo’s tap water eased. Tests Thursday showed radioactive material in a major plant supplying water to the capital has fallen beneath the level the government says could pose long-term health risks to infants. Elevated levels at the plant Tuesday and Wednesday sparked official warnings and bottled-water sales. Japan’s Nuclear Safety Technology Center, a government monitoring group, released the estimate late Wednesday of the cumulative exposure to radiation in zones surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi complex. The estimate covered the 12 days since Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami spurred fires, explosions and spikes in radioactivity levels at the complex.
The estimate—produced by modeling radiation readings collected at various points around the plant—suggested that most areas with radiation that exceeded government thresholds fell within the 12-mile evacuation zone. read more ... |
| Radioactive Iodine In Fukushima Seawater Highest Ever, Reactors 5 And 6 Now Leaking Too - Thursday, March 24, 2011Tyler Durden Zero Hedge
Thursday, March 24, 2011 And while futures rise as the market anticipates the latest central bank intervention to paper over the global financial insolvency, the radioactive fallout from Fukushima continues to worsen as Iodine 131 levels in the seawater hits the highest since the start of the crisis. “According to Tokyo Electric Power Co., radioactive iodine-131 146.9 times higher than the legal concentration limit was detected Wednesday morning in a seawater sample taken around 330 meters south of the plant, near the drain outlets of its troubled four reactors. The level briefly fell to 29.8 times the limit on Tuesday morning from 126.7 times on Monday, but rose to its highest so far in the survey begun this week apparently due to rain and water sprayed at spent fuel pools from outside that caused radioactive materials to seep into the sea, it said.” What’s far worse, reactors 5 and 6 which have been supposed to be ok, are also leaking: “The firm also said it found both iodine-131 and cesium-137 in a sample taken from near the drain outlets of the plant’s No. 5 and No. 6 reactors that stabilized Sunday in so-called ”cold shutdown.” The bad news is not only in immediate proximity to Fukushima: “Iodine-131 19.1 times higher than the limit was also detected Wednesday afternoon in a sample taken some 16 kilometers south of the nuclear power station, up from 16.7 times on Tuesday.” From Kyodo: Abnormally high levels of radioactive materials were again detected in the sea near the crisis-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, its operator said Thursday, warning the radiation levels in seawater may keep rising. According to Tokyo Electric Power Co., radioactive iodine-131 146.9 times higher than the legal concentration limit was detected Wednesday morning in a seawater sample taken around 330 meters south of the plant, near the drain outlets of its troubled four reactors. The level briefly fell to 29.8 times the limit on Tuesday morning from 126.7 times on Monday, but rose to its highest so far in the survey begun this week apparently due to rain and water sprayed at spent fuel pools from outside that caused radioactive materials to seep into the sea, it said. The firm also said it found both iodine-131 and cesium-137 in a sample taken from near the drain outlets of the plant’s No. 5 and No. 6 reactors that stabilized Sunday in so-called ”cold shutdown.” Iodine-131 19.1 times higher than the limit was also detected Wednesday afternoon in a sample taken some 16 kilometers south of the nuclear power station, up from 16.7 times on Tuesday. The current radiation levels in seawater do not pose an immediate risk to human health, an official of TEPCO told reporters, but added, ”We have to continue to monitor whether (radioactive materials in seawater) will keep rising.”
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| ‘Fukushima flawed from start, 24 such plants online in US’ - Thursday, March 24, 2011David Lindorff, investigative journalist and founding editor of the online newspaper This Can’t Be Happening explains why it is still impossible to prevent disasters like Fukushima, with all the work that is going into the development of peaceful nuclear energy: read more ... |
| Chernobyl-Style Yellow Rain Causes Panic In Japan - Thursday, March 24, 2011Paul Joseph Watson | Authorities assure alarmed citizens yellow powder is pollen, but victims of Chernobyl radiation were told the same thing. Radioactive yellow rain that fell in Tokyo and surrounding areas last night caused panic amongst Japanese citizens and prompted a flood of phone calls to Japan’s Meteorological Agency this morning, with people concerned that they were being fed the same lies as victims of Chernobyl, who were told that yellow rain which fell over Russia and surrounding countries after the 1986 disaster was merely pollen, the same explanation now being offered by Japanese authorities. “After two days of rain in Tokyo I woke up to a thick coating of this yellow stuff all over my car. What looks like a glare between the glass and the body of the car is actually pollen. My first thought was ewe! Radioactive sludge from Fukushima, but no,” states the comment associated with this You Tube clip. “The (Japan Meteorological) agency received more than 200 inquiries Thursday morning about yellowish residue left on roofs and elsewhere by the rain, stirring concerns that radioactive substances had fallen after accidents caused by the March 11 quake and tsunami at a nuclear power plant around 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo,” reports Japan Today. Officials later suggested the discoloration was caused by air-borne pollen falling with the rain. “The JMA believes the yellow patches are pollen, but has yet to confirm this,” reports the Wall Street Journal, adding that the JMA received over 280 calls after residents in the Kanto region discovered yellow powder on the ground. “A health official at the Tokyo metropolitan government also said there is a possibility that the rain contained radioactivity but not at a level to have had adverse effects on people’s health,” adds the Japan Today report. Given the fact that Japanese authorities have been habitually deceptive about the Fukushima crisis from start to finish, assurances that the yellow powder was merely a result of air-borne pollen particles are dubious at best. With people living in Tokyo already being told that tap water is unsafe to drink, along with contaminated vegetables and milk from certain areas near Fukushima, the fact that they were panicked by yellow rain is unsurprising. Although pollen can turn rain a yellow color, the fact that the phenomenon occurred a couple of hundred kilometers south of the radiation-spewing Fukushima nuclear plant has stoked alarm, and understandably so given the fact that victims of Chernobyl nuclear fallout in 1986 were also told by authorities that yellow rain was harmless pollen, when in fact it was deadly radioactive contamination. A University of California Daily Bruin article entitled “Remembering Chernobyl,” documents how children in Belarus happily splashed around in puddles of yellow rain having been assured by Russian authorities that it was merely pollen, when in fact it was a toxic mixture of radioactivity that had been blasted from the Chernobyl plant 80 miles away. Thinking back to 20 years ago, it’s the splashing in yellow rainwater that Antonina Sergieff vividly recalls. “We all jumped in the puddles with the yellow stuff. … You don’t see (it in) the air, it doesn’t materialize. But when you see the yellow dust, you see radiation,” Sergieff said. When these elements first reached Sergieff 20 years ago, they came in the form of yellow rain. It was not long after that residents in her hometown knew it wasn’t simply “pollen” – which is what government officials assured them, she said.
The effects of this “pollen” soon confirmed that those puddles of yellow rain contained something far more sinister, namely iodine-131, caesium-137, strontium-90 and plutonium-239. “Soon, people started losing their hair, pictures of deformed animals sprouted up in independent newspapers, and incidences of cancer in Belarus skyrocketed, Sergieff said. According to the U.N. brief, cases of breast cancer in Belarus doubled between 1988 and 1999, among other increases.” With levels of radiation emitted by Fukushima now approaching those spewed out by the blast at Chernobyl, as the establishment media bizarrely pretends that the crisis is all but over, seawater samples taken around 330 meters south of the plant confirm that levels of radioactive iodine released are the highest yet recorded. As we have highlighted, despite UN and World Health Organization studies that claim Chernobyl led to a maximum of 9,000 deaths and 200,000 cases of radiation sickness, more contemporary studies have shown that nearly a million people have been killed from cancers caused by the disaster over the course of the last 25 years.
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| Fukushima Radiation Spreading To More U.S. States - Thursday, March 24, 2011Steve Watson | EPA says some air monitors might not be working properly. Radiation from the ongoing disaster in Japan is spreading throughout the United States, and while the EPA says the levels are not dangerous, it also admits that some of its radiation-tracking air monitors may not even be working. Steve Watson
Infowars.com
March 24, 2011 Radiation from the ongoing disaster in Japan is spreading throughout the United States, and while the EPA says the levels are not dangerous, it also admits that some of its radiation-tracking air monitors may not even be working.
Images from inside the plant at Fukushima. Colorado and Oregon are the latest states to report detection of radioactive particles that have drifted over the North Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima plant, some 5000 miles away. The EPA announced late yesterday that small amounts of iodine-131, a radioactive form of iodine, has been detected by monitors at Grand Junction, Denver, and Colorado Springs in Colorado. Iodine-131 was also picked up yesterday by monitors in Portland, Oregon. Hawaii, California and in Washington State previously reported finding trace amounts of radioactive iodine, cesium, and tellurium. Three air monitors in California at San Francisco, Riverside and Anaheim, as well as one monitor in Seattle, have identified the isotopes and other radioactive particles.
EPA officials, as well as local public environmental health authorities, have dismissed the notion that there is any serious health threat from the findings. “Our finding is consistent with findings in Washington and California. We have expected to find trace amounts of the isotopes released from the Japanese plant. There is no health risk,” Gail Shibley, administrator of Oregon’s Office of Environmental Public Health, Oregon Public Health Division, said in a statement. “The levels we’re measuring are extremely low,” Mike Bandrowski, manager of EPA radiation programs in San Francisco, said in an interview Wednesday. “They’re a fraction of natural background radiation. People should not be concerned.” “The radiation levels detected on the filters from California and Washington monitors are hundreds of thousands to millions of times below levels of concern.” an EPA statement also suggested. However, earlier this week, the EPA suggested that some of the air-monitors it is using to obtain radiation readings are “undergoing quality review”. Out of a total of 124 stationary air-radiation monitors across the country, 22 were described as not working and listed as out of service, according to Ronald Fraass, director of the EPA’s National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory in Montgomery, Alabama. Out of a total of 18 air monitors in California, Oregon and Washington state, the areas of the US most at risk from any spreading radiation, the EPA says 8 are not functioning. “If a monitor in one area is being repaired, EPA’s network will still be able to detect any fluctuation in background radiation levels,” Brendan Gilfillan, an EPA spokesman, said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News. As we reported earlier this week, authorities, and even the president himself, first claimed that any radiation from the stricken nuclear plant would completely dissipate, and would not reach the US at all. Those predictions have proven completely inaccurate as the mainland United States has been blanketed with radioactive Xenon 133 particles and is to be exposed to more dangerous caesium-137 particles. Health authorities have gone from ambivalently telling Americans not to worry about the situation, to actively discouraging them from obtaining protective potassium iodide pills. In practically every news article covering the detection of radiation inside the US, the following EPA statement has been quoted: “In a typical day, Americans receive doses of radiation from natural sources like rocks, bricks and the sun that are about 100,000 times higher than what we have detected coming from Japan. For example, the levels we’re seeing coming from Japan are 100,000 times lower than what you get from taking a roundtrip international flight.” Earlier in the week, nuclear energy critic and author Hirose Takashi wrote about how asinine this type of statement is: Around Fukushima Daiichi Station they measured 400 millisieverts – that’s per hour. With this measurement (Chief Cabinet Secretary) Edano admitted for the first time that there was a danger to health, but he didn’t explain what this means. All of the information media are at fault here I think. They are saying stupid things like, why, we are exposed to radiation all the time in our daily life, we get radiation from outer space. But that’s one millisievert per year. A year has 365 days, a day has 24 hours; multiply 365 by 24, you get 8760. Multiply the 400 millisieverts by that, you get 3,500,000 the normal dose. You call that safe? And what media have reported this? While the Japanese government continues its blatant cover up of the severity of the situation, the US government is literally telling Americans they are more at risk from a bag of rocks than they are from breathing in some nuclear fallout. |
| Radiation Level At Fukushima Reactor No. 2 At Its Highest Level Recorded - Wednesday, March 23, 2011Electric Power Co. said Wednesday it has observed a neutron beam, a kind of radioactive ray, 13 times on the premises of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after it was crippled by the massive March 11 quake-tsunami disaster.
Tyler Durden Zero Hedge
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 Per the Japan Nuclear Agency: the Radiation level at Fukushima reactor No. 2 at its highest level recorded so far. From Reuters: “Radiation at the crippled Fukushima No.2 nuclear reactor was recorded at the highest level since the start of the crisis, Japan’s nuclear safety agency said on Wednesday. An agency spokesman said 500 millisieverts per hour of radiation was measured at the No.2 unit on Wednesday. Engineers have been trying to fix the plant’s cooling system after restoring lighting on Tuesday.” And some more truthy news from Kyodo: Electric Power Co. said Wednesday it has observed a neutron beam, a kind of radioactive ray, 13 times on the premises of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after it was crippled by the massive March 11 quake-tsunami disaster. TEPCO, the operator of the nuclear plant, said the neutron beam measured about 1.5 kilometers southwest of the plant’s No. 1 and 2 reactors over three days from March 13 and is equivalent to 0.01 to 0.02 microsieverts per hour and that this is not a dangerous level. The utility firm said it will measure uranium and plutonium, which could emit a neutron beam, as well. In the 1999 criticality accident at a nuclear fuel processing plant run by JCO Co. in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, uranium broke apart continually in nuclear fission, causing a massive amount of neutron beams. In the latest case at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, such a criticality accident has yet to happen. But the measured neutron beam may be evidence that uranium and plutonium leaked from the plant’s nuclear reactors and spent nuclear fuels have discharged a small amount of neutron beams through nuclear fission. read more ... |
| Corporate Media Ignores Astronomical Fukushima Radiation Levels - Wednesday, March 23, 2011Kurt Nimmo | In the end, all of us – especially our children – will pay for it. The Kyodo News Agency reports that radiation around the hobbled Fukushima nuclear plant is 1,600 times the normal level. The astounding figure was released to the media by the International Atomic Energy Agency officials on Monday. Japanese authorities advise that infants should only drink bottled water after the detection of more than twice the safe level of radioactive iodine in the Tokyo water supply.
March 23, 2011 The Kyodo News Agency reports that radiation around the hobbled Fukushima nuclear plant is 1,600 times the normal level. The astounding figure was released to the media by the International Atomic Energy Agency officials on Monday.
Data collected by an IAEA team show that radiation levels of 161 microsievert per hour have been detected in the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, the officials said, according to a report posted by House of Japan. Tests carried out by IAEA technicians in numerous locations around the plant revealed radiation levels ranging between 2 and 160 microsievert per hour, while the normal level for the area should not exceed 0.1 microsievert per hour, the Russian newsite RIA Novosti reports. A CBS affiliate in Wisconsin also reported on the high radiation levels that will ultimately be dispersed around the world and will undoubtedly result in unprecedented health problems and premature death from cancer. Most of the corporate media, however, did not bother to report the story. Reuters reported that there was 500 microsieverts of radiation per hour on March 18 at the site but does not explain what this means. It did not mention the 1,600 number. Earlier in the week, nuclear energy critic and author Hirose Takashi wrote about the media effort to obfuscate the truth about Fukushima: Around Fukushima Daiichi Station they measured 400 millisieverts – that’s per hour. With this measurement (Chief Cabinet Secretary) Edano admitted for the first time that there was a danger to health, but he didn’t explain what this means. All of the information media are at fault here I think. They are saying stupid things like, why, we are exposed to radiation all the time in our daily life, we get radiation from outer space. But that’s one millisievert per year. A year has 365 days, a day has 24 hours; multiply 365 by 24, you get 8760. Multiply the 400 millisieverts by that, you get 3,500,000 the normal dose. You call that safe? And what media have reported this?
The corporate media as the complaisant handmaiden of the elite are obliged to cover up the truth. In the end, all of us – especially our children – will pay for it. |
| Radionuclide Blankets United States; Authorities Insist Levels Are Harmless - Tuesday, March 22, 2011Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
March 22, 2011 Contradicting Barack Obama’s assertion last week that radiation from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant would not even reach Hawaii, the mainland United States has been blanketed with radioactive Xenon 133 particles, while spent nuclear fuel pools at Fukushima have now reached boiling point and threaten to spew out more radioactive smoke. Although health authorities insist that levels of the radionuclide Xenon 133 that have been measured are harmless, claims that such radiation would dissolve over the Pacific have been proven completely inaccurate. Indeed, the latest charts show that fallout from Fukushima will not just smother the United States, but most of the globe. The chart below from the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) shows the spread of Xenon 133 emitted from the Fukushima plant.
CLICK TO ENLARGE. The following chart, from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, also shows the spread of Xenon 133 across the United States.
Although Xenon has been released globally, it is considered a far more inert and harmless form of radioactivity in comparison to the far more dangerous iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium-137. The next chart, produced by the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety and Meteo France, shows the dispersion of the more dangerous caesium-137 particles from Fukushima on a global scale.
It is important to stress that health authorities insist levels of all four of the radioactive isotopes being released from Fukushima, namely Xenon 133, iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium-137 are harmless to people living outside of the Fukushima exclusion zone. However, those assurances were not adequate to prevent the U.S. military from preparing the, “Mandatory evacuation of thousands of American troops and their families in Japan out of concern over rising radiation levels,” reports CNN. Despite its apparent harmlessness at current levels, the very fact that such radiation is currently smothering the entire United States completely contradicts assurances made last week by President Barack Obama that the radiation from Fukushima was set to dissipate before it reached Hawaii, never mind the mainland U.S. “Obama told KDKA-TV of Pittsburgh that experts have assured him that a nuclear release from Japan will dissipate by the time it gets to Hawaii, much less the U.S. mainland,” USA Today reported on March 15. Just days later, reports emerged of small amounts of radiation hitting California. As we have documented, given the habitual nature of both the Japanese and the U.S. government in deceiving people as to the safety of the air we breathe, the fact that distrust has reigned amidst panic buying of potassium iodide and geiger counters is completely understandable. Radiation from Fukushima has now been detected as far north-east as British Columbia in Canada and Iceland in Scandinavia, with mainland Europe set to be hit over the coming 24 hours. Today the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that radiation was still being spewed from Fukushima and that they were unclear of its source. An obvious answer would be the pools holding deadly spent nuclear fuel rods, which according to the latest reports have begun to boil as efforts to cool them down continue to fail, despite Japanese authorities and the global mainstream media continuing to claim that the worst of the problem is over. read more ... |
| Photo Evidence: Temperature in Fuel Rod Pool Above Boiling Point - Tuesday, March 22, 2011Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
March 22, 2011 
It looks like the Japanese and Obama will try to cover-up the out of control reactors and exposed fuel rods at Fukushima the same way the U.S. government covered-up the Gulf oil disaster.
Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan has proclaimed he can see “light at the end of the tunnel” and that progress has been made at the number one and two reactors at the plant. It was also reported that a power cable was connected to the number 3 and 4 reactors. Obama’s bureaucrats were obliged to chime in. “With each passing hour, each passing day, things are more under control,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on the Fox News Sunday program. “Step by step, they are making very good progress.” Chu said the Obama administration believes the worst of the crisis is behind us. Unit two, where TEPCO connected a 1.5-kilometer power cable March 18, was the main source of concern, Chu said on CNN’s State of the Union program. Meanwhile, IAEA director-general Yukiya Amano said he had “no doubt that this crisis will be effectively overcome.” On March 21, Zero Hedge posted thermal photos of the site. “Thermal images from Fukushima have just been released. One is based on data from Die Welt, the other one comes straight from NHK,” the site notes. The Die Welt photo shows a temperature at 128 Celsius, well above the boiling point of water. Zero Hedge speculates the area in question is the pool containing spent nuclear fuel rods. If the water is boiling, the rods are more than likely exposed and radiation is being emitted. Water boils at 100 Celsisu. So much for Chu’s optimism. 
Related: Latest Radiation charts In the video below, we see an animation based on the radiation readings released by the German Meteorological Agency on March 21. Note the increase in radiation levels.
read more ... |
| Doctors use Fukushima-like radiation to “treat” thyroid disorders - Tuesday, March 22, 2011Mike Adams | Treatment so dangerous patients set off radiation alarms at airports and transportation centers.
Mike Adams
NaturalNews
March 22, 2011 Japan has been reporting for several days that much of the raw milk being produced in the Fukushima province is now radioactive. This raises today’s quiz question: If the FDA were operating in Japan, what would they do about this raw, radioactive milk? 
Answer: They would seize it because it’s RAW, not because it’s radioactive.
After all, it is the FDA that has long supported the mass irradiation of the food supply as a way to sterilize it and “kill pathogens.” The food irradiation agenda has long been a top priority of the FDA (http://www.naturalnews.com/023015_f…). Meanwhile, the FDA has been a steady enemy of raw milk (and other raw foods). Even today, when you buy almonds grown in California, they must be fumigated or irradiated in order to comply with California state law (which was supported by the USDA and applauded by the FDA). (http://www.naturalnews.com/021989.html) Perhaps the Fukushima nuclear power plant has a future after all: Instead of producing power, it can function as an FDA-approved food irradiation center where fresh, raw foods are exposed to radiation to make them “safe” for public consumption. Does your doctor want to irradiate your thyroid gland? It’s not just your food that’s being irradiated, of course: It’s also your body. In addition to the radiation-emitting mammography machines and cancer radiotherapy treatment machines used in hospitals every day, there’s also a very common radiation treatment for so-called “hyperthyroidism” that involves injecting a radioactive form of iodine into patients and “burning out” their thyroid gland. Guess what they use for their thyroid radiation treatment? Radioactive iodine — the same deadly substance being released from the Fukushima power plant! I can’t make this stuff up. The treatment is so dangerous that patients who subject themselves to it set off radiation alarms at airports and transportation centers. The patients are so radioactive that they’re told not to stand near any other person for several days because the radiation would damage them. From EPA.gov: “Key beta emitters used in medical imaging, diagnostic and treatment procedures are phosphorus-32, and iodine-131. For example, people who have taken radioactive iodine will emit beta particles. They must follow strict procedures to protect family members from exposure. Radioactive iodine may enter the environment during a nuclear reactor accident and find its way into the food chain.Industrial gauges and instruments containing concentrated beta-emitting radiation sources can be lost, stolen, or abandoned. If these instruments then enter the scrap metal market, or someone finds one, the sources they contain can expose people to beta emitters.” (http://www.epa.gov/radiation/unders…)
Coming soon: The Fukushima hospital? The fact that western medicine uses the same deadly radiation being released by the Fukushima nuclear facility as a “treatment” for your thyroid is nothing short of astonishing. Doctors quite literally “fry” patients’ thyroid glands with this radiation, and then send them home to die from the inevitable cancers that will result. This leads to the rather obvious conclusion of what to do with the Fukushima nuclear power plant now that it can no longer be used to generate electricity: Western medical doctors can turn it into the Fukushima hospital to “treat” cancer patients and hyperthyroidism sufferers with yet more radiation! This is not said in jest. Radiation is used every day throughout the medical industry, even when radiation is the cause of the cancer in the first place. Cancer doctors, you see, have somehow reached the bizarre conclusion that cancer is caused by a lack of radiation and therefore cancer patients need more radiation as a “treatment.” If this philosophy is followed throughout Japan, it will mean that all the cancer victims from the Fukushima catastrophe will be given yet more radiation as a way to treat the cancers they develop. Or perhaps they’ll be given chemotherapy, a powerful chemical poison, to go along with the radiation. It all just shows you how completely quacked-out modern cancer treatments really are, doesn’t it? Only in western medicine does the “treatment” consist of pure poison or deadly radiation. And aren’t those the very same things that caused cancer in the first place? Isn’t it amazing how doctors say “Don’t use sunscreen” because the sun’s radiation might give you cancer, but to treat the cancer, they give you artificial radiation from far more dangerous sources? (By “artificial” I mean it is a “contrived” source of radiation that’s not normally present in the human environment.) I think they should rename hyperthyroidism treatments to be the “Fukushima protocol.” Radioactive iodine, folks. You can get it either from a nuclear meltdown, or from your doctor. Oh, and by the way, when they give you radioactive iodine to burn out your thyroid, they specifically tell you in advance to avoid taking in other sources of iodine, or else the radioactive iodine “won’t burn out your thyroid good enough” (paraphrased, obviously). Don’t protect your body, in other words. That’s the message from both the White House and the medical system: Don’t take precautions against radiation. Just do what you’re told and go along with whatever you’re supposed to do, no matter how totally loony that “official” advice might be. |
| Detectors in Japanese Aftermath - Tuesday, March 22, 2011Are political figures in Japan, in the U.S. and worldwide downplaying the dangers? My San Antonio
March 21, 2011 ***These political cartoons are clearly not meant to offend or belittle those affected by the nuclear crisis in Japan, but rather to draw attention to political figures in Japan, in the U.S. and worldwide who would downplay and obscure the potential dangers associated with nuclear fallout. 
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| The rantings of a NutBar - Let’s Send Ann Coulter to Fukushima - Monday, March 21, 2011Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
March 21, 2011 Last week faux conservative and shameless self-promoter Ann Coulter went on the Bill O’Reilly Show and said “radiation is good for you” in response to questions about the Fukushima nuclear reactors (see video below). She claimed that a growing body of evidence shows exposure to high levels of harmful radiation actually reduces cancer. On her website, Coulter wrote an article entitled A glowing report on radiation, in which she wrote: “With the terrible earthquake and resulting tsunami that have devastated Japan, the only good news is that anyone exposed to excess radiation from the nuclear power plants is now probably much less likely to get cancer.” She declared “excess radiation operates as a sort of cancer vaccine.” On his nationally syndicated radio show today, Alex Jones offered to foot the bill and send Ms. Coulter to Fukushima where she might deliver a speech on the benefits of radiation. Let’s encourage Coulter to take Alex up on his offer. She can be reached through Premiere Speakers Bureau. Send Coulter a message and encourage her not to miss this opportunity to defend her ideas. read more ... |
| Japan’s Nuclear Crisis Debacle and the Depopulation Agenda - Monday, March 21, 2011Ethan Jacobs | Evidence suggests the disaster fits neatly into the globalists’ plan to reduce world’s population. Infowars.com
March 21, 2011 Is it possible that the radiation released from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is intended to sicken and harm the populations of Japan, Hawaii and the United States? There is evidence that suggests that the disaster fits neatly into the globalists’ well-documented plan to significantly reduce the world’s population. 
The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis After experiencing a devastating earthquake, resulting tsunami and leaking nuclear reactors, the Japanese government’s priority is not in saving lives and rebuilding Japan’s infrastructure, but rather saving a financial asset of Tokyo Electric Power Company (the nuclear facility) at the expense of the health and safety of the entire Northern Hemisphere. It has been over a week since Fukushima Reactor 3 exploded releasing deadly radiation. Reactor 4 is known to be leaking as well. Nonetheless, the Japanese government still has not covered the reactors with concrete and sand to stop the radiation leak, as was eventually done at Chernobyl. The leaking reactors could have been covered and sealed in a matter of days if not hours using aircraft to drop tons of sand and concrete around the clock. Instead, Japan continues the risky venting of radioactive gas to relieve a new spike in pressure in its troubled nuclear reactors. While the initial damage to the nuclear plant could be attributed to the Tsunami that devastated Japan (a natural event assuming that HAARP or other technology was not involved), the lack of government action to protect the public demonstrates extreme incompetence of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, if not malice. Contrary to government propaganda distributed by the mainstream media, there is no safe dose of radiation. Dr. Chris Busby, Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, states that the leaked radiation from Fukushima will have a negative health impact on the people of Japan and the United States. After days of delay, “Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency admitted that the disaster was a level 5, which is classified as a crisis causing ‘several radiation deaths’ by the UN International Atomic Energy.” As Paul Joseph Watson writes, governments have a history of deceiving the public in times of crises: The same people telling us that the levels are miniscule and the radiation ‘harmless,’ are from the same organizations who assured us that the Chernobyl disaster only killed 9,000 people, when in reality it exposed 550 million Europeans, and 150 to 230 million others in the Northern Hemisphere to notable contamination and led to nearly a million deaths.
Japan is already facing a food safety crisis due to the radioactive fallout. “Tests found levels of radioactive iodine up to seven times the legal limit in samples of raw milk, spinach and two leaf vegetables as far away from the nuclear plant as Chiba prefecture, to the east of Tokyo.” California and the Unites States may face a similar problem as the jet stream has already carried the toxic radiation from Japan across the Pacific Ocean. Depopulation AgendaThis prolonged nuclear crisis at Fukushima may be tied to the depopulation agenda laid-out in Ecoscience , co-authored by Obama’s top science and technology advisor, John P. Holdren, in which he advocated the formation of a “planetary regime” that would use a “global police force” to enforce totalitarian measures of population control, including forced abortions, mass sterilization programs conducted via the food and water supply, as well as mandatory bodily implants that would prevent couples from having children. The Globalist depopulation agenda has a history of using radiation against populations in lands with natural resources to be conquered. In her Global Research article entitled From Hiroshima to Iraq, 61 years of Uranium Wars, world renowned geoscientist, Leuren Moret, writes: The conduct of secret nuclear wars since 1991, through the use of depleted uranium weaponry by the United States and Great Britain with their allies, has taken place in the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan2 and Lebanon.3 It has been carried out for the express purpose of destroying the public health and mutilating the genetic future of vast populations in oil rich and/or pipeline regions.
Carpet and grid bombing with depleted uranium weaponry in Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan has guaranteed permanent radioactive terrain contamination. The recent discovery that U.S. depleted uranium bombs dropped by Israel on Lebanon in 2006 contained enriched uranium4, 5 suggests covert testing of fourth generation nuclear weapons.
Perhaps the uncapped leaking Fukushima reactors are being used to reduce the population of Japan, the United States, and Europe , in a manner that allows for plausible deniability. Conclusion A few years from now people in the Northern Hemisphere will likely experience increased rates of cancer, birth defects, and other health issues triggered by the Fukushima radiation release. Most people will not connect the dots as to the cause of their suffering; and, even if they do, will have trouble proving the link and obtaining compensation for their injuries. Prime Minister Kan and Barack Obama have once again revealed themselves as powerless puppets of the global elite. Rather that bury the Fukushima plant a half mile deep in sand and concrete to protect the public, they allow toxic radiation to continue leaking which could possibly cause millions of injuries and a contaminated food supply. Who cares if millions of lives are endangered and the workers trying to stop the Fukushima meltdown sign their own death certificates? The important thing is that the reactors are eventually saved and restored to generate further profits for Tokyo Electric Power Company. Business as usual in the New World Order . The people of Japan and all those affected must hold their government officials, and their global elite handlers, accountable for failing to seal the reactors. |
| Japanese government admits potassium iodide pills should have been distributed earlier - Monday, March 21, 2011Mike Adams | Thousands of cases of future cancers may be attributable to the radiation already emitted from Fukushima. Mike Adams
NaturalNews
March 21, 2011 A Japanese nuclear safety official has now publicly admitted the Japanese government improperly withheld potassium iodide from the public for three days following the Fukushima power plant explosion. Kazuma Yokota says the Japanese government was “caught off guard” by the nuclear catastrophe and didn’t realize its people needed potassium iodide until three days later. 
Associated Press distributed this statement, which has been carried by hundreds of mainstream news organizations:
“A Japanese nuclear safety official, Kazuma Yokota, acknowledged that the government only belatedly realized the need to give potassium iodide pills that help reduce chances of thyroid cancer to those living within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the nuclear complex.” This explanation defies logic, of course. How can a person whose job is to assure the safety of the nuclear industry not realize that an exploding nuclear power plant might be dangerous to its people? This should have been the very first action item made public: Take your potassium iodide! A nuclear plant has just exploded, and radiation is leaking into the environment… what to do? That the explosion at Fukushima did not trigger an immediate announcement for people to take potassium iodide is yet more evidence of Japanese government incompetence or perhaps even a cover-up. It’s almost as if the government didn’t want people to think the explosion was a big deal, so they downplayed the whole scenario and didn’t bother to warn people to take action. Encouraging people to take potassium iodide might have “frightened” them, they probably figured. If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because President Obama has taken exactly the same non-action in the United States, too. Last week, he publicly urged people to do nothing to prepare against the very real possibility of radioactive fallout reaching California (http://www.naturalnews.com/031735_O…). When it comes to taking intelligent action following this nuclear catastrophe — which already ranks as the second worst nuclear accident in the history of human civilization — our governments all earn an “F” grade. Because they failed to warn the citizens to take because precautionary steps, and in doing so, they are setting in motion a sequence of events that will get people killed. Thousands of cases of future cancers may be attributable to the radiation already emitted from Fukushima. Had the Japanese government acted sooner, some of those cancers might have been avoided with potassium iodide. That’s what the substance exists for, after all. If you don’t use it following a nuclear power plant explosion, then why have it at all? We will be fortunate, indeed, if the Fukushima nuclear power plant situation is resolved without further radiation leaks. A close brush with nuclear catastrophe, no doubt. One lesson we can all learn from this is that those who wait for their governments to tell them what to do may pay for their lack of action with their lives. Sources for this story include:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world… http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c19ed90e-… |
| Sunday 3/20/2011 news - Sunday, March 20, 2011 |
| Fukushima nuclear plume “covered most of North America” - Sunday, March 20, 2011As of yesterday, the cloud covered most of North America and northeastern Siberia. It is currently passing over the North Atlantic,” it said, naming French terroritories in the Caribbean and off Canada’s eastern coast. ENE News
March 20, 2011 Fukushima cloud now at the Atlantic, no risk – France, ABS-CBN News (Philippines), March 20, 2011 at 3:23 am: The plume from Fukushima has now reached the western Atlantic but its radioactivity is likely to be “extremely low” and have no impact on health or the environment, France’s Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) said on Saturday. “As of yesterday, the cloud covered most of North America and northeastern Siberia. It is currently passing over the North Atlantic,” it said, naming French terroritories in the Caribbean and off Canada’s eastern coast. The cloud has been progressively thinning as it heads eastwards around the northern hemisphere at high altitude and will reach mainland Europe on Wednesday or Thursday, it said, citing a computer model jointly compiled with the French weather service, Meteo France. …
Read the report here. BBC at 18:41: The cloud plume from Fukushima has now reached the western Atlantic, but radioactivity is likely to be “extremely low” with no impact on health or the environment, France’s Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) says, according to the AFP news agency. read more ... |
| Mainstream media halts accurate reporting on Japan’s worsening nuclear catastrophe; disinfo campaign - Saturday, March 19, 2011The mainstream media today halted nearly all accurate reporting of the worsening situation in Japan. Mike Adams
Natural News
March 19, 2011  (NaturalNews) Almost as if on cue, the mainstream media today halted nearly all accurate reporting of the worsening situation in Japan, writing off the whole thing as a “non issue.” This all happened in a seeming coordinate effort following President Obama’s speech on Wednesday that urged Americans to NOT prepare for anything. The American people, Obama insisted, should simply watch television to “stay informed.” Shortly after, mainstream television news returned to its regularly-scheduled sports and entertainment programming, barely touching on the reality of the worsening situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.
Nuclear experts that were on mainstream news channels two days are now nowhere to be found today. Scary (but accurate) news stories about Fukushima have now been all but completely banned from the MSM. The word from the top is clearly that media outlets should start downplaying this nuclear accident, which even now ranks as the second worst nuclear accident in the history of human civilization (right after Chernobyl). The Asian media, for its part, simply started fabricating completely fictitious news. The press in China and Taiwan, for example, reported last night that grid power had been restored to the Fukushima reactor #2 and that the entire disaster had now been completely averted. This was a total fabrication: The truth is that power plant workers were pulled out of the area before they could even connect grid power, due to rising levels of extremely dangerous radiation near the plant. Even if grid power were restored to reactor #2, that would not help reactors #3 and #4, where the really dangerous plutonium MOX fuel is stored. It’s 2,000,000 times more toxic than enriched uranium. And even if they could restore power to all the reactors, there’s no guarantee that the cooling pumps will even work there. They were very likely damaged in the explosions and may not be functioning at all. Time to start lying to the people What to do in such a crisis? If you’re the government, the important action is to just lie to the people as much as possible, telling them everything’s fine. Even Japan’s own political leaders are fed up with it. One Mayor of a Japanese province says his own government abandoned his people and lied to everyone . In the United States, the nuclear power industry is now in total spin mode, trying to make sure people don’t question the future of nuclear power. General Electric, which manufactured the reactors in the Fukushima power plant, experienced huge stock losses over the last few days. Now, it seems the orders from the top are to tell people nuclear power is “still safe.” GE, of course, is a huge asset holder in NBC , one of the major media players in this whole charade. I very much doubt NBC openly discloses to its viewers that its news reporting may be entirely biased because it is largely owned by the very same corporate conglomerate that earns money from the construction of nuclear power plants. Even the radiation reporting from U.S. authorities appears to be a whitewash, as detectors in the U.S. are only reporting radiation leaked days ago out of Japan, not the new radiation headed our way. We are now witnessing the complete transition of this entire story from the “honest reporting” phase to the new “disinformation” phase which seeks to ensure that the people of the world have no real clue what’s going on in Fukushima. Don’t prepare. Don’t worry. Don’t think for yourself. Just do whatever the government tells you to do… which is right now nothing. It’s an amazing plan, eh? Sadly, pretending that Fukushima is not a problem does not reverse the laws of nuclear physics at work there. If a massive cloud of radiation bursts into the atmosphere in the coming days, will they also pretend nothing happened? Will the American people be given no warning as a massive radiation cloud approaches? We must now seriously begin to question the agenda of the Japanese and American governments in all this. Are they actually trying to get more people killed? If not, then why aren’t the people being advised to take prudent precautionary measures? Here at NaturalNews, we urge everyone to get prepared, just in case. Have a preparedness kit. Have a plan. Get informed. Fuel up your vehicles. Boost your iodine intake. Be calm and prepared, folks, so that you don’t panic and become part of the problem when things go wrong. Why can’t Obama utter those words, I wonder? Why is the only real leadership on this whole issue coming from the alternative media and not the elected “leaders” of our nation? |
| Caldicott: UN lies about nuclear threat - Saturday, March 19, 2011Japan’s nuclear crisis is reminiscent of the past — both Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Helen Caldicott, the author of “Nuclear Power is not the Answer” explained disasters like this could cause global nuclear catastrophe and are exactly why nuclear power is not a viable option for solving the planet’s energy woes. She argued accidents are too risky and the UN, IAEA and the World Health Organization are covering up just how devastating it could be... read more ... |
| Britons call for iodine tablets in Japanese radiation panic - Saturday, March 19, 2011Constant assurances that Britain is safe from harmful radiation were not enough to prevent people trying to buy iodine pills at pharmacies up and down the country on Friday. Gordon Rayner
London Telegraph
March 19, 2011 Constant assurances that Britain is safe from harmful radiation were not enough to prevent people trying to buy iodine pills at pharmacies up and down the country on Friday. The National Pharmacy Association said more than 100 of its members had received requests from members of the public for potassium iodide tablets, which prevent the body from absorbing radiation. The pills have been handed out to people living near the Fukushima power plant, but scientists have repeatedly said there is no risk to human health beyond northern Japan. Radioactive particles blowing across the Pacific have already caused a slight increase in background radiation in the US, and experts in Sweden have predicted that the entire northern hemisphere will eventually experience measurable increases. read more ... |
| Nuclear plant boss breaks down crying, admits radiation levels deadly - Friday, March 18, 2011Officials said rating was raised after they realized the full extent of the radiation leaking from the plant.The boss of the company behind the devastated Japanese nuclear reactor today broke down in tears – as his country finally acknowledged the radiation spewing from the over-heating reactors and fuel rods was enough to kill some citizens.
radiation levels deadly Mail Online
March 18, 2011 The boss of the company behind the devastated Japanese nuclear reactor today broke down in tears – as his country finally acknowledged the radiation spewing from the over-heating reactors and fuel rods was enough to kill some citizens Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency admitted that the disaster was a level 5, which is classified as a crisis causing ‘several radiation deaths’ by the UN International Atomic Energy. Officials said the rating was raised after they realized the full extent of the radiation leaking from the plant. They also said that 3 per cent of the fuel in three of the reactors at the Fukushima plant had been severely damaged, suggesting those reactor cores have partially melted down. |
| Reports Of “Harmless” Radiation Reaching California Are a Whitewash - Friday, March 18, 2011Paul Joseph Watson | Bulk of radioactive particles from Fukushima blasts will not reach west coast until Saturday to Monday.Exactly as we predicted would happen, authorities have cited “miniscule” levels of radiation reaching California as an excuse with which to downplay the threat to Americans of fallout crossing the Pacific from Japan, completely ignoring the fact that the bulk of the radiation from the two blasts at the Fukushima power plant will not reach the west coast until Monday. March 18, 2011 Exactly as we predicted would happen, authorities have cited “miniscule” levels of radiation reaching California as an excuse with which to downplay the threat to Americans of fallout crossing the Pacific from Japan, completely ignoring the fact that the bulk of the radiation from the two blasts at the Fukushima power plant will not reach the west coast until Monday.
“Radioactive fallout from Japan’s crippled nuclear plant has reached Southern California but the first readings are far below levels that could pose a health hazard, a diplomat said Friday.” “Initial readings are “about a billion times beneath levels that would be health threatening,” the diplomat told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the CTBTO does not make its findings public.” The diplomat called the level of radioactivity “irrelevant,” while another unnamed source told Reuters that the level was “very low.” If the two individuals quoted in the reports are so confident that there is no threat, why are they so keen on remaining anonymous? As we have emphasized, the radiation now hitting the west coast is from the early leaks suffered by the Fukushima plant after the earthquake and tsunami last Friday, which actually occurred Thursday U.S. time. These leaks were minimal in comparison to the radiation emitted after explosions on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday tore apart the buildings housing the reactors. In addition, the radiation currently being measured does not take into account radiation emitted by pools of deadly spent nuclear rods, which only began to emit serious amounts of radiation a few days ago. We will not know the true level of the threat until the radiation particles emitted as a result of the three explosions that devastated Fukushima hits the west coast over the weekend and into Monday. The fact that authorities have completely failed to point this out suggests they are actively trying to whitewash the threat that the fallout poses to Americans. For the sake of people in America and around the globe, we hope that levels of radiation have dissipated over the Pacific and that future generations are not made to suffer. But for officials to hastily dismiss the threat before the vast majority of the radiation has even reached the west coast, and while Fukushima is still smoking, in a stage of partial melt down, and emitting more radiation every second, is completely irresponsible and suggests a cover-up. We heard a similar theme during Obama’s speech yesterday when he all but insulted Americans for preparing themselves for fallout by purchasing potassium iodide pills. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health experts do not recommend people in the U.S. take precautionary measures beyond staying informed,” said Obama, which is precisely what those affected by both Chernobyl and the 3 Mile Island accident were told, trust your government, a mistake that led to nearly a million deaths in the case of Chernobyl and a dramatic rise in cancers in the case of 3 Mile Island. It was also what ground zero workers heard in the days after 9/11, that the air was “safe to breathe,” a contrived cover-up on behalf of the EPA and the White House that led to thousands of crippling illnesses and deaths of firefighters, police and first responders. History tells us that government have habitually lied about radiation, air quality and the true scope of health threats to the American people. Only through the use of private monitoring stations will we be able to confidently gauge the true levels of radiation hitting the west coast, and we won’t know the full extent of the danger Americans face until Monday at the earliest. read more ... |
| Cover-up in Canada: Radioactive Leak Into Lake Ontario - Friday, March 18, 2011With all the focus placed on the Japanese radiation leak as well as the toxic plume of radioactive particles (possibly containing uranium and plutonium) heading for the United States, another potential disaster is receiving virtually no attention. Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
March 18, 2011
With all the focus placed on the Japanese radiation leak as well as the toxic plume of radioactive particles (possibly containing uranium and plutonium) heading for the United States, another potential disaster is receiving virtually no attention. Of course, attention should be paid to the Japanese situation. Especially since the mainstream media is doing everything it can to cover up the scale of the disaster. Nevertheless, it seems the continent of North America is being hit from two sides in terms of radiation danger. On March 16, a report was released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) stating that Canada’s Ontario Power Generation has released radioactive water into Lake Ontario via a leak in the Pickering A nuclear generating station. As a result of what appears to be a pump seal failure, tens of thousands of litres of radioactive water escaped the generating station on Monday and ended up in Lake Ontario. This is concerning for a number of reasons, but it is especially concerning considering the fact that Lake Ontario is the main source of drinking water for millions of people. Typically, the Canadian government is claiming that the water contamination is of little concern and that the citizenry should not be alarmed. In an official statement, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission claimed, “The radiological risk to the environment and people’s health is negligible.” Likewise, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the Canadian government have been preferring to use the term “demineralized” water instead of “radioactive” water when discussing the leak. No doubt this is an attempt to hush concern over another radioactive accident amid anxiety over the “demineralized” catastrophe in Japan. John Luxat, an “expert” on radiation from McMaster University claims the water that found its way into Lake Ontario Monday is actually not radioactive at all. In an interview with the CTV News Channel, Luxat stated, “It is not radioactive; it is not going through the reactors. It is actually just going through steam generators to produce steam to drive the turbines. It is used to remove heat from the heavy water going into the generators, but it doesn’t at any time go into the reactor.” That sounds reassuring enough. However, it conflicts with a report (that was meant to be reassuring) from OPG itself. Also in the same interview with CTV News Channel, Ted Gruetzner of OPG said, “People are concerned about nuclear power, but this particular incident is normal water with a bit of radiation. It is well below our regulatory and other limits.” Apparently, the nuclear industry was unable to get its story straight this time around. According to Mr. Luxat, there is no radiation involved with this water spill. But Mr. Gruetzner has admitted that there is. As an employee of OPG, it would not seem to be to his advantage to makes such an admission, so we can assume with great probability that there is, at the very least, some radiation now polluting Lake Ontario. As Gordon Edwards, spokesperson for the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, stated, “That water came from the spent fuel bays right into Lake Ontario. The spent fuel bays in Japan are currently the source of some of the greatest radiation exposures. If there is an accident in Pickering, the fact that there is a direct pathway from the spent fuel bay into Lake Ontario should be quite alarming.” Cause for great concern indeed. With two radiation-related accidents in only a few weeks, and a confirmed cover-up in both cases, one could almost begin to wonder if there is more to all this than meets the eye. Regardless, this new radioactive contamination should be watched closely and dealt with immediately. Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Mullins, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Francis Marion University where he earned the Pee Dee Electric Scholar’s Award as an undergraduate. He has had numerous articles published dealing with a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, and civil liberties. He is also the author of Codex Alimentarius – The End of Health Freedom
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| March 18th updated news on the Japan crisis - Friday, March 18, 2011Shane Connor | Surviving radioactive fallout & radiation contamination from Japan, Iran or North Korea.
In a truly incredible example of the complete disregard for the health and safety of the American people, President Obama today told Americans that they should NOT prepare for radiation from the possible meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.
The unfolding disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant follows decades of falsified safety reports, fatal accidents and underestimated earthquake risk in Japan’s atomic power industry.
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter joined Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly Thursday night to discuss her new piece titled “A Glowing Report on Radiation.” Natural News | The Japanese gov’t has been lying to those living close to the Fukushima Daiichi reactor.
State budgets are broke, the federal government is mired in conflict and partisan divide and people all over the country are taking to the streets. Is the system itself collapsing? Alex Jones says the US Empire must go down or we all go down with it, we don’t have a choice, choose sides, it is either us or them we’re at historic crossroads right now.
With all the focus placed on the Japanese radiation leak as well as the toxic plume of radioactive particles (possibly containing uranium and plutonium) heading for the United States, another potential disaster is receiving virtually no attention.
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| MOX plutonium fuel used in Fukushima’s Unit 3 reactor - Friday, March 18, 2011Two million times more deadly than enriched uranium Largely absent from most mainstream media reports on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is the fact that a highly-dangerous “mixed-oxide” (MOX) fuel in present in six percent of the fuel rods at the plant’s Unit 3 reactor.
Ethan A. Huff,
Natural News
March 18, 2011 Largely absent from most mainstream media reports on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is the fact that a highly-dangerous “mixed-oxide” (MOX) fuel in present in six percent of the fuel rods at the plant’s Unit 3 reactor. Why is MOX a big deal? According to the Nuclear Information Resource Center (NIRS), this plutonium-uranium fuel mixture is far more dangerous than typical enriched uranium — a single milligram (mg) of MOX is as deadly as 2,000,000 mg of normal enriched uranium. On March 14, Unit 3 of the Fukushima reactor exploded, sending a huge smoke plume into the air. This particular reactor, of course, contains the rods fueled with MOX. You can watch a clip of that explosion here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_N-… If even a couple milligrams of MOX were released during this explosion — or if other explosions at the plant inflict any damage on the MOX-filled rods — then the consequences could be exponentially more devastating than the mere leakage of enriched uranium. And since nobody knows for sure exactly which rods have been damaged, and whether or not the situation can actually be contained, it is only a matter of time before the world finds out for sure. An exact quote from the report reads: “In the event of such accidents (involving the accidental release of MOX), if the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) recommendations for general public exposure were adhered to, only about one mg of plutonium may be released from a MOX facility to the environment. As a comparison, in [sic] uranium fabrication facility, 2kg (2,000,000 mg) of uranium could be released in the same radiation exposure.” A simple calculation reveals that one mg of MOX is basically two million times more powerful than one mg of uranium. This is clearly not a good thing when the plutonium-containing fuel rods in Fukushima may be damaged from the recent explosions and leaking into the environment. A recent National Public Radio (NPR) piece explains that the half-life of plutonium-239, a component of MOX, is an astounding 24,000 years. The same piece explains that if even a small amount of this potent substance escapes from the plant in a smoke plume, the particles will travel with the wind and contaminate soil for tens of thousands of years (http://www.npr.org/2011/03/16/13460…). Amazingly, most mainstream reports that mention MOX discount it as a non-threat. But the truth of the matter is that the threat posed by MOX is very serious. The NIRS report explains that inhalation of MOX radioactive material is significantly more dangerous than inhalation of normal uranium radioactive particles. You can read the entire MOX report for yourself here:
http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/469-47… Sources for this story include: http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/469-47… http://www.npr.org/2011/03/16/13460… Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/031736_plutonium_enriched_uranium.html#ixzz1GxD9uyOt read more ... |
| Even more news on Japan's crisis - Thursday, March 17, 2011Kurt Nimmo | Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization releases misleading information. Neo-libs everywhere are rejoicing. Remember – war is evil unless it’s sprinkled with the magic pixie dust of UN endorsement and “humanitarian” rhetoric, in which case the dead bodies, the terror, and the screaming children are all worth it. The fact that Libya is the richest oil nation on the entire African continent is a mere coincidence. Go back to sleep – basketball is on the TV. Soon you’ll be able to crack open a 6 pack and enjoy the air strikes like you would a Dwyane Wade slam dunk. The radiation plume illustrated on the map is from the original release over last weekend. A far larger and more deadly plume of radiation from the explosions and fires earlier this week will soon follow.
The Pentagon’s actions regarding the nuclear crisis in Japan reveal that the true scale of the disaster is being withheld from the public.
CNN | No danger to people on the west coast of the United States and Canada.
NBC Bay Area | Conflicting messages appear in the effort to buy iodide tablets.
“No citizen of any country can be assured that he or she can be protected from radioactive contamination. One nuclear reactor can pollute half the globe,” they said. “Chernobyl fallout covers the entire Northern Hemisphere.” |
| Swedish Government: Radiation To Cover Entire Northern Hemisphere - Thursday, March 17, 2011Paul Joseph Watson | Swedes were first in world to detect radiation from Chernobyl disaster. Suggesting that levels of radiation leaks from the stricken Fukushima plant are being grossly underreported by Japanese authorities, a Swedish government agency told Reuters today that not only will the radiation reach North America, but it will subsequently cover the entire northern hemisphere. Swedes were first in world to detect radiation from Chernobyl disaster 
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, March 17, 2011 Suggesting that levels of radiation leaks from the stricken Fukushima plant are being grossly underreported by Japanese authorities, a Swedish government agency told Reuters today that not only will the radiation reach North America, but it will subsequently cover the entire northern hemisphere. “Lars-Erik De Geer, research director at the Swedish Defense Research Institute, a government agency, was citing data from a network of international monitoring stations established to detect signs of any nuclear weapons tests,” reports Reuters. “Stressing that the levels were not dangerous for people, he predicted the particles would continue across the Atlantic and eventually also reach Europe.” De Geer said he was “convinced it would eventually be detected over the whole northern hemisphere,” according to the report, adding that radioactive particles would “eventually also come here,” referring to Europe. De Geer’s prognosis arrives on the back of a study of data by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, which confirmed that the radioactive plume from Fukushima would reach the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting southern California late on Friday. The CBTO has a network of radiation monitors deployed globally that can detect radioactive particles such as caesium and iodine isotopes. Experts are correct in assuming that the initial waves of radiation will be low, but expect levels to rise in subsequent days as the effects of the three blasts to impact the Fukushima facility, which occurred on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, manifest themselves in the form of increased radiation injected into the atmosphere. “Naturally, with the credibility of every government around the world shot, it is no surprise that most consumer Geiger counter stores are sold out of inventory at this point, at virtually all price points,” writes Tyler Durden. As we reported earlier, having confidence in the trustworthiness of governments globally who have habitually lied about the true threat posed by radiation, notably after the 3 Mile Island accident and the Chernobyl disaster, is somewhat less than wise. However, at least the Swedes can be trusted to know a thing or two about detecting radiation. While the Soviets were furiously engaged in a cover-up of the Chernobyl disaster which occurred on April 26 1986, Swedish workers at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant were the first ones to detect the fallout from the accident two days later on April 28. It was only after the workers failed to find the source of any radioactive leak at their own plant that the true horror of what had happened 1,100 km (680 miles) away in the western Soviet Union began to unravel. The whole planet is united in hoping that Japanese technicians find some way to restore power and water cooling system to the Fukushima plant before that terrible scenario has any chance of repeating. The video below shows how far the radiation clouds from Chernobyl spread across Europe, smothering virtually the entire continent within 7 days. Although agencies like the WHO and the IAEA claimed that only 9,000 people died as a consequence, more contemporary studies have shown that nearly a million people have been killed from cancers caused by the disaster over the course of the last 25 years.
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| Pentagon Cover-up of Data on Fukushima Disaster - Thursday, March 17, 2011Kurt Nimmo | The Pentagon and the government know full well the extent of this unprecedented disaster. March 17, 2011 The Japan Times reports the Pentagon will send an unmanned Global Hawk high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft over the deteriorating Fukushima nuclear complex today. 
“Photographs taken by the plane equipped with infrared sensors could provide a useful clue to what is occurring inside the reactor buildings, around which high-level radiation has been detected,” the news source reports.
The flight is basically unnecessary and represents PR spin. Both the Pentagon and the Japanese government know full well the severity of the situation at the Fukushima plant and they are not releasing this information to either the Japanese or American people. The Pentagon is responsible for developing nuclear technology and has particle detectors, also known as radiation detectors, positioned around the world. The USS George Washington and USS Ronald Reagan, both now parked off Japan, are outfitted with radiation detection technology. In addition, the radiation can be tracked by the U.S. Air Force’s Constant Phoenix WC-135 jets, which are designed to monitor airborne fallout from nuclear weapons tests. Constant Phoenix technology was used after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine to sample the air over the Atlantic and was also used to detect seismic events associated with North Korea’s claim of a nuclear test in October 2006 and again in May 2009, the Pentagon told Alan Boyle of MSNBC. The Constant Phoenix program was established in 1947 by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, ostensibly to detect atomic explosions anywhere in the world. It is serves as a collection platform for the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) at Patrick AFB, Florida. The 45th Reconnaissance Squadron at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, works closely with AFTAC. Air sampling missions are routinely conducted over the Far East, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Mediterranean Sea, the Polar regions, and off the coasts of South America and Africa. Pakistan, India, and North Korea are of particular interest because they have nuclear programs. Maj. Chad Steffey told the reporter that a Constant Phoenix WC-135 would be sent to sample the air moving over Japan, supposedly in response to a Japanese government request. The planes would be brought from Offutt Air Force Base, Steffey said. A senior U.S. defense official told NBC News that Constant Phoenix’s involvement in the Japanese fiasco was “absolutely” a significant event. “We are using it to help out a nation,” the official said. “It’s significant.” More PR spin. The Pentagon moved to gauge the threat well before any supposed request by the Japanese government. It deployed its sophisticated technology – and that of the NRC and the NNSA (the National Nuclear Security Administration) – to size up the threat early on. The Pentagon acts on its own. It does not wait for requests from government, including our own Congress. In the United States, the EPA has a vast array of radiation detection stations. In California alone, there are twelve stations measuring air particulates, real-time gamma, and the contamination of milk and drinking water. It remains to be seen if the EPA will share this data with the American people.
RT report on latest developments. Recall the EPA dispensing misleading information following the false flag attacks of September 11, 2001, telling New Yorkers it was safe to breathe the air when reliable information on air quality was not available. The Pentagon and the government know full well the extent of this unprecedented disaster — and it is far worse then they are telling us. They are not about to level with the American people, who will find out later this week and in the weeks ahead how severe and life threatening the situation is. As we reported over the weekend, the CIA’s USAID was dispatched to micromanage the release and spin of information on the disaster. Yoichi Shimatsu, the former editor of the Japan Times Weekly, told CCTV a large scale cover-up is unfolding. “The CIA, through USAID, is running a disinfo campaign on Japan’s earthquake crippled nuclear facilities for geopolitical reasons. The Japanese people will ultimately suffer, as will millions of other people who happen to be downwind from the stricken plants,” we wrote at the time. A video of Mr. Shimatsu’s interview was predictably memory holed at YouTube, the video site owned by CIA asset Google. |
| All the lastest news reports - Thursday, March 17, 2011Paul Joseph Watson | 9/11, Chernobyl, 3 Mile Island, Project SHAD, Atomic Soldiers – governments habitually deceive public on health threats Ethan A. Huff | Radioactive particles in the jet stream will end up contaminating crops and grazing fields. Chinese fear radiation from Japan, buying iodine pills
Many Chinese, fearing radiation poisoning from the earthquake-ravaged nuclear plant in neighbouring Japan that just lies across the sea, are buying iodine pills to protect themselves.
World food supply threatened by Japan nuclear radiation
Fallout from the current meltdown occurring at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was hit by the 9.0+ mega earthquake and tsunami last Friday, could contaminate the world’s food supply with toxic radiation, say experts. U.S. Government Cannot Be Trusted On Radiation Plume
Given the brazen contempt with which the EPA lied to ground zero workers in telling them that the air was “safe to breathe” on 9/11, government agencies cannot be trusted to give accurate information about the Fukushima radiation plume, which is set to reach California on Friday according to the United Nations.
The French government accused the Japanese of losing control of the situation and hiding the full scale of the disaster.
China’s economic agency told shoppers on Thursday to stop panic buying salt, blaming baseless rumours that the iodine in it can stop radiation sickness.
The Japanese government’s radiation report for the country’s 47 prefectures Wednesday had a notable omission: Fukushima, ground zero in Japan’s nuclear crisis. Measurements from Ibaraki, just south of Fukushima, were also blanked out.
The Anglo-American multi-trillion dollar global military machine has been defended ad nauseum as essential to protecting free humanity and its progress into a promising future.
Yesterday’s speculation that a bank holiday was suggested and may be imposed in Japan due to unprecedented market swings and tens of trillions in support from the BOJ has just been confirmed.
Mizuho, the second-largest financial services company in Japan, has just locked out its customers from accessing their cash.
If we could rely on the Japanese and American governments to inform us of any danger, we wouldn’t have to be so vigilant.
RADIATION levels have risen again around Japan’s crippled Daiichi nuclear power station after improvised attempts to flood smouldering uranium fuel storage tanks with water failed. ABC News | Dale Bridenbaugh and other colleagues at GE quit 35 years ago after they were convinced the nuclear design was devastatingly flawed. RT | The intensifying nuclear crisis in Japan is raising anxieties on both sides of the Pacific. CNN | The U.S. military has blocked access to a range of popular commercial websites for use in Japan recovery efforts. |
| Nuclear And Industrial Safety Agency says water cannons failed at Fukushima - Thursday, March 17, 2011Nuclear And Industrial Safety Agency says the water cannons failed. A spokesman for the Tokyo Electric Power Company told Japan news agency NHK that "it appears the mission was successful," while a spokesman for the Nuclear And Industrial Safety Agency says the water cannons failed in their attempt to cool the unit when the water failed to reach its target from safe distances. FoxNews.com
March 17, 2011 Japanese officials are at odds over whether water dumps on the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant Thursday has worked as high radiation levels have been detected 19 miles away from the plant. A spokesman for the Tokyo Electric Power Company told Japan news agency NHK that “it appears the mission was successful,” while a spokesman for the Nuclear And Industrial Safety Agency says the water cannons failed in their attempt to cool the unit when the water failed to reach its target from safe distances.
Japanese military helicopters dumped water onto the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant’s damaged reactors and emergency crews tried unsuccessfully to douse the reactors with water cannons. |
| World food supply threatened by Japan nuclear radiation - Thursday, March 17, 2011Ethan A. Huff
NaturalNews
March 17, 2011 Fallout from the current meltdown occurring at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was hit by the 9.0+ mega earthquake and tsunami last Friday, could contaminate the world’s food supply with toxic radiation, say experts. If the plant’s radioactive particles get caught in the jet stream and travel the world over, they will end up contaminating crops and grazing fields. 
“The explosions could expose the population to longer-term radiation, which can raise the risk of cancer. These are thyroid cancer, bone cancer and leukemia. Children and fetuses are especially vulnerable,” said Lam Ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong. “For some individuals even a small amount of radiation can raise the risk of cancer. The higher the radiation, the higher the risk of cancer.”
According to experts, there are many ways in which radioactive particles can travel. They can bind to rain droplets and fall with the rain, or they can just travel in the wind and be inhaled by animals and humans. Either way, radioactive particles eventually end up embedding in soil and water where they contaminate the environment, wildlife, crops, and drinking water. Even cows grazing on radioactive grass will produce dangerous milk unsuitable for consumption.
As of this writing, officials have declared that the situation in Japan is currently a Level Six on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). The scale ranges from Level One, which represents little danger, to Level Seven, which represents a large release of radioactive material where widespread environmental and health effects are to be expected. The Fukushima plant has experienced four major explosions thus far since the earthquake, and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has urged everyone within roughly 20 miles of the plant to remain indoors with their windows and doors closed. All reactors at the site are confirmed or suspected to have gone into partial core meltdown at this point. Radiation levels have begun escalating in Tokyo, and radioactive particles are expected to spread out towards the Pacific Ocean in the coming days, according to weather simulation models released by South Korea’s Meteorological Administration. Sources for this story include: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011… http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/a… http://rt.com/news/meltdown-radiati… read more ... |
| More news on the Japan's crisis - Thursday, March 17, 2011Urgent radiation preparedness action items for California, Oregon, Washington, B.C., Yukon and Alaska The time to get really concerned is if — and only if — the Fukushima reactors suffer a fuel rod “meltdown” event which would release a massive amount of radiation into the atmosphere. The United Nations has calculated that such an event would send a cloud of very powerful radiation headed eastward, arriving on the shores of the United States and Canada within 2-3 days after the meltdown, depending on wind patterns.
Western Response to Japan: The real crime against humanity The Anglo-American multi-trillion dollar global military machine has been defended ad nauseum as essential to protecting free humanity and its progress into a promising future.Tokyo Passengers Trigger U.S. Airport Detectors, N.Y. Post Says Radiation detectors at Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare airports were triggered when passengers from flights that started in Tokyo passed through customs, the New York Post reported.
Harmless? Chernobyl Radiation Killed Nearly One Million People “No citizen of any country can be assured that he or she can be protected from radioactive contamination. One nuclear reactor can pollute half the globe,” they said. “Chernobyl fallout covers the entire Northern Hemisphere.”
MSNBC LIES About Three Mile Island Health Effects They never mentioned studies by the Radiation and Public Health Project, including a “new analysis of health statistics in the region found that death rates for infants, children, and the elderly soared in the first two years after the Three Mile Island accident in Dauphin and surrounding counties.”
Discovery Channel: Disaster At Chernobyl In the early hours of April 26th, 1986, an explosion ripped through the Chernobyl power station in the Ukraine. The blast was to cause the worst nuclear accident in history, leading to death and health problems for several thousands of people across parts of Europe. The operation to clean up the area damaged by the explosion took years and people are still suffering the destructive effects of the Chernobyl disaster.
Tokyo Exodus Part 3: ATM Shutdowns, Power Outages Put Citizens On Edge, Gold Hoarded In Evacuation Preparations The resilience of those living in the Japanese capital has been beyond admirable. After experiencing a record earthquake, hundreds of aftershocks, a historic tsunami, radioactive catastrophy 160 miles away and constant fears a northeasterly wind can bring in radioactive snow, and now unending rolling blackouts and ATM service interruptions, one has yet to hear about any mass exodus let alone coordinated complaining.
Japanese Gov’t Blacks Out Radiation Readings Closest to Smouldering Plants The Japanese government’s radiation report for the country’s 47 prefectures Wednesday had a notable omission: Fukushima, ground zero in Japan’s nuclear crisis. Measurements from Ibaraki, just south of Fukushima, were also blanked out.
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| Canadian media tells population NOT to take KI precautions - Wednesday, March 16, 2011Infowars | Why are Canadian media telling people not to prepare for the worst?
If people get sick from the fallout of Japans rad
March 16, 2011 Taking precautions has always been about ‘better safe than sorry.’ After all, you cannot protect yourself after it’s too late. With that in mind, why are Canadian media outlets telling British Columbians that there is NO risk from the Japan-to-West Coast jet stream? Why are they discouraging people from even stocking up on Potassium Iodide (KI), which is already becoming difficult to obtain? If there’s even a small chance of harmful radiation blowing over, why would you tell people not to prepare? Even if the dangers do not appear, this seems shortsighted. After all, if these media outlets are wrong, issuing a retraction later will do no good once people are negatively affected.
Calm down. Japan’s nuclear crisis poses no risk to B.C
Vancouver Sun
March 16, 2011 Can we please stop hyperventilating over the nuclear crisis in Japan? Yes, it’s a serious problem – for the Japanese and for the nuclear industry. No, it doesn’t pose an immediate risk to people living on the West Coast, as our own public health officers point out. The accident site is separated from Vancouver by 7,500 kilometres of ocean, about the same distance that separates Toronto from Chernobyl. Yes, the disaster could get worse -in Japan and particularly for the 12 million people who live in Tokyo, not to mention Chiba or Yokohama. All these people live about as close to the stricken reactor as Vancouver is to Seattle. Read full articleIodine therapy unnecessary: B.C. officials
CBC News
March 16, 2011 The B.C. provincial government is recommending pharmacies not dispense or stockpile potassium iodide for sale in connection to the nuclear reactor situation in Japan. “It is recommended that pharmacies do not dispense or stockpile potassium iodide tablets,” provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall, said in a statement. Kendall said there is no basis to the concern about radioactivity, even in a worst-case meltdown scenario in Japan. Read full article read more ... |
| Governments, Corporations Push Cover-up of Japanese Nuclear Nightmare - Wednesday, March 16, 2011Danger posed for Human Health
Kurt Nimmo | Government secrecy is the rule of the day and the health and welfare of citizens ranks low. March 16, 2011 A data map of radiation levels in Japan posted on the TargetMap website has omitted information from the Fukushima Prefecture where nuclear reactors are currently melting down. 
The map reports a “survey” of the area is currently “underway,” in other words the Japanese government is not reporting the obvious fact the area is contaminated with deadly radiation and it does not want the Japanese people or anybody else to know the full story. A coordinated coverup of the severity of the situation is underway. This sort of behavior is typical of governments, especially when they are interested in protecting their power base and protecting the interests of transnational corporations. Normally stoic Japanese citizens are outraged over the lack of information forthcoming from the government. “Residents who have been evacuated after a radiation leak from a quake-hit nuclear power plant have expressed their anger with the lack of information about the incident and how to respond to it,” The Mainichi Daily News reports. In the United States, countless numbers have flocked to stores in pursuit of iodine tablets, said to help prevent thyroid cancer. Americans are obviously not buying the line promulgated by federal and state government that radiation does not pose a threat. Katrina and other incidents have instructed the people in the uselessness of government and its desire to protect them. Increasingly, people understand they have to be proactive and protect themselves and not rely on a gaggle of self-serving bureaucrats. In Russia’s Far East, residents on Wednesday stocked up on iodine and checked radiation levels. Russia’s emergencies ministry toted the same line as other government’s around the world – there is no risk to human health and no danger from radiation is expected. Potassium iodide tablets have been given to some U.S. military flight crews near Japan and the no-go zone for soldiers and sailors is larger than that declared by the Japanese government for its citizens.
The U.S. military has developed a radiation protection drug known as Ex-Rad, but it is not currently available for the commoners. “We train and equip all of our people to operate in all kinds of environments,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan told Reuters. “So we know how to measure (radiation), we know how to test. We know how to respond. We know how to take precautions.” The Navy said it had repositioned ship due to “radiological and navigation hazards.” And yet the Pentagon – or anybody else – for that matter is not testing radiation levels in and around Japan, or if they are they are not releasing the data to the public. The U.S. has positioned sophisticated radiation detection equipment in Asia. For instance, last month the National Nuclear Security Administration announced the successful installation of radiation detection equipment at the Port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The equipment, however, is not designed to detect radiation escaping from nuclear plants built by transnational corporations such as General Electric, but is intended to be part of the effort to guard against the ostensible threat posed by CIA created terror groups such as al-Qaeda. The Department of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice, has doled out millions to a program designed to refurbish, package, and distribute surplus DOE equipment to agencies nationwide with the stated purpose of providing equipment to mitigate terrorist, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. The equipment is not intended to detect radiation from exploding transnational corporate nuclear reactors, obviously a much more ominous threat than one supposedly posed by Muslims operating from distant caves. As a recent Wikileaks revelation reveals, the government received warnings over the stability of its power plants from an international watchdog more than two years ago, but the warnings were disregarded. In December of 2008, the IAEA said that safety rules were outdated and strong earthquakes would pose a “serious problem” for nuclear power facilities. Once again, government secrecy is the rule of the day and the health and welfare of citizens ranks low on the list of priorities. Stock up with Fresh Food that lasts with eFoodsDirect (Ad) Government will invariably protect at all cost the interests of multinational corporations, including those building faulty nuclear plants located on or near earthquake fault lines, over the safety and well-being of the people.
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| Newly Released Images Show Devastated Nuclear Reactors - Wednesday, March 16, 2011Pictures appear to confirm the worst – that deadly spent fuel rods were exposed to blasts. The Tokyo Electric Power Company has released new images that show the devastated nuclear reactors at the stricken Fukushima plant, as authorities confirm that a second reactor containment vessel has been damaged, leading to yet more deadly radiation being released into the atmosphere. Pictures appear to confirm the worst – that deadly spent fuel rods were exposed to blasts 
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 UPDATE: It is important to stress that 40 years’ worth of deadly spent fuel rods that would have been blown sky high by the blasts were stored in the roof of the facilities you see devastated in these images. See our article for more on this urgent aspect of the story.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company has released new images that show the devastated nuclear reactors at the stricken Fukushima plant, as authorities confirm that a second reactor containment vessel has been damaged, leading to yet more deadly radiation being released into the atmosphere. Following news that a containment vessel at reactor number 2 had cracked, it was later confirmed that reactor number 3 had ruptured and was releasing radioactive smoke. “Top government spokesman Yukio Edano told a press conference in the morning that smoke has been recognized from about 8:30 a.m. around the No.3 reactor and said, ”As we saw in the No. 2 unit, steam has been released from the (No. 3) reactor’s containment vessel,” reports Kyodo News. A fire in the plant’s number 4 reactor, where massive numbers of highly radioactive spent fuel rods are stored, was likely caused by the water that is in place to cool the rods boiling and exposing them to open air. As we have documented, the threat posed by the spent fuel rods burning and releasing radioactivity is even greater than the active fuel rods. The Fukushima Daiichi plant has seven pools dedicated to spent fuel rods. These are located at the top of six reactor buildings – or were until explosions and fires ravaged the plant. On the ground level there is a common pool in a separate building that was critically damaged by the tsunami. Each reactor building pool holds 3,450 fuel rod assemblies and the common pool holds 6,291 fuel rod assemblies. Each assembly holds sixty-three fuel rods. In short, the Fukushima Daiichi plant contains over 600,000 spent fuel rods – a massive amount of radiation that will soon be released into the atmosphere. Images released by the Tokyo Electric Power Company appear to confirm the worst – that the spent fuel rods stored near the roof of the facility were impacted by the blasts. 
Close up of reactor no. 4 – CLICK FOR ENLARGEMENT.
Reactor no. 3 is completely devastated.
Another shot of reactor no. 4.
Radiation levels in Tokyo have not increased, but that’s probably only because strong winds are blowing the radiation out into the Pacific Ocean. The fact that the prevailing jet stream is heading towards the U.S. west coast has prompted a run on potassium iodide pills, with U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin contradicting assurances from government officials by encouraging Americans to obtain potassium iodide as a precaution. That’s easier said than done given the fact that manufacturers are telling retailers that there won’t be any more available until the end of April or even May after existing supplies were bought up as early as Saturday. In addition, it appears that the government has enforced a blockade on potassium iodide. A caller to the Alex Jones Show yesterday related how U.S. health authorities could be blocking Americans from obtaining the radiation-fighting drug, after his doctor refused to prescribe the drug following a “conversation” with the CDC. Despite surging demand, the U.S. government only has enough potassium iodide in reserve to cover populations living within 10 miles of nuclear reactors, leaving hundreds of millions of Americans exposed to potential radiation clouds without protection should the winds carry any radioactivity across the Pacific. read more ... |
| Alert: Fukushima Coverup, 40 Years of Spent Nuclear Rods Blown Sky High - Wednesday, March 16, 2011Paul Joseph Watson and Kurt Nimmo | More than 600,000 spent fuel rods on site, ready to burn March 15, 2011 Infowars analysis: In addition to under reporting the fires at Fukushima, the Japanese government has not told the people about the ominous fact that the nuclear plant site is a hellish repository where a staggering number of spent fuel rods have accumulated for 40 years.  A contributor to the Occupational and Environmental Medicine list who once worked on nuclear waste issues provided additional information about Fukushima’s spent fuel rod assemblies, according to a post on the FDL website.
“NIRS has a Nov 2010 powerpoint from Tokyo Electric Power Company (in english) detailing the modes and quantities of spent fuel stored at the Fukushima Daiichi plant where containment buildings #1 and #3 have exploded,” he wrote on March 14. The Powerpoint is entitled Integrity Inspection of Dry Storage Casks and Spent Fuels at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and can be read in full here. The document adds a new and frightening dimension to the unfolding disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi plant has seven pools dedicated to spent fuel rods. These are located at the top of six reactor buildings – or were until explosions and fires ravaged the plant. On the ground level there is a common pool in a separate building that was critical damaged by the tsunami. Each reactor building pool holds 3,450 fuel rod assemblies and the common pool holds 6,291 fuel rod assemblies. Each assembly holds sixty-three fuel rods. In short, the Fukushima Daiichi plant contains over 600,000 spent fuel rods – a massive amount of radiation that will soon be released into the atmosphere. It should be obvious by now that the authorities in Japan are lying about the effort to contain the situation in order to mollify the public. It is highly likely there are no workers on the site attempting to contain the disaster. Earlier today, a report was issued indicating that over 70% of these spent fuel rods are now damaged – in other words, they are emitting radiation or will soon. The disclosure reveals that authorities in Japan – who have consistently played down the danger and issued conflicting information – are guilty of criminal behavior and endangering the lives of countless people. On Tuesday, it was finally admitted that meltdowns of the No. 1 and No. 2 reactor cores are responsible for the release of a massive amount of radiation. After reporting that a fire at the No. 4 reactor was contained, the media is reporting this evening that it has resumed. The media predictably does not bother to point out why the fire is uncontainable – the fuel rods are no longer submerged in water and are exposed to the atmosphere and that is why they are burning and cannot be extinguished. It cannot be stressed enough that the situation at Fukushima represents the greatest environmental disaster in the history of humanity, far more dangerous that Chernobyl, and the government of that country is responsible. — Perhaps the most underreported and deadliest aspect of the three explosions and numerous fires to hit the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactor since Saturday is the fact that highly radioactive spent fuel rods which are stored outside of the active nuclear rod containment facility are likely to have been massively compromised by the blasts, an elevation in the crisis that would represent “Chernobyl on steroids,” according to nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen. As you can see from the NPR graphic below, the spent fuel rods are stored outside of the active nuclear rod containment casing and close to the roof of the reactor complex. Video from Saturday’s explosion and subsequent images clearly indicate that the spent fuel rods at Fukushima unit number one could easily have been compromised by the blast. 
According to Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer at Fairewinds Associates and a member of the public oversight panel for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, which is identical to the Fukushima Daiichi unit 1, the failure to maintain pools of water that keep the 20 years worth of spent fuel rods cool could cause “catastrophic fires” and turn the crisis into “Chernobyl on steroids.” The BBC is now reporting that “spent fuel rods in reactors five and six are also now believed to be heating up,” with a new fire at reactor 4, where more spent rods are stored, causing smoke to pour from the facility. “Japanese news agency Kyodo reports that the storage pool in reactor four – where the spent fuel rods are kept – may be boiling. Tepco says readings are showing high levels of radiation in the building, so it is inaccessible,” adds the report. “At the 40-year-old Fukushima Daiichi unit 1, where an explosion Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor, the spent fuel pool, in accordance with General Electric’s design, is placed above the reactor. Tokyo Electric said it was trying to figure out how to maintain water levels in the pools, indicating that the normal safety systems there had failed, too. Failure to keep adequate water levels in a pool would lead to a catastrophic fire, said nuclear experts, some of whom think that unit 1’s pool may now be outside,” reports the Washington Post. The rods must be kept cool because otherwise they start to burn and, in the case of reactor number 3, would release plutonium and uranium in the form of vapor into the atmosphere. “That’s bad news, because plutonium scattered into the atmosphere is even more dangerous that the combustion products of rods without plutonium,” writes Kirk James Murphy. “We’d be lucky if we only had to worry about the spent fuel rods from a single holding pool. We’re not that lucky. The Fukushima Daiichi plant has seven pools for spent fuel rods. Six of these are (or were) located at the top of six reactor buildings. One “common pool” is at ground level in a separate building. Each “reactor top” pool holds 3450 fuel rod assemblies. The common pool holds 6291 fuel rod assemblies. [The common pool has windows on one wall which were almost certainly destroyed by the tsunami.] Each assembly holds sixty-three fuel rods. This means the Fukushima Daiichi plant may contain over 600,000 spent fuel rods.” There have been massive design issues with the Mark 1 nuclear reactor stretching back three decades. As ABC News reports today, “Thirty-five years ago, Dale G. Bridenbaugh and two of his colleagues at General Electric resigned from their jobs after becoming increasingly convinced that the nuclear reactor design they were reviewing — the Mark 1 — was so flawed it could lead to a devastating accident.” “The problems we identified in 1975 were that, in doing the design of the containment, they did not take into account the dynamic loads that could be experienced with a loss of coolant,” Bridenbaugh told ABC News in an interview. “The impact loads the containment would receive by this very rapid release of energy could tear the containment apart and create an uncontrolled release.” |
| All the lastest reports on the Japan Crisis and how it effects Canada and the US - Wednesday, March 16, 2011 |
| Water in Pool Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel Rods May Be Boiling, Sign for Release of Radioactivity - Wednesday, March 16, 2011Washington’s Blog | Damaged fuel rods emit radioactive substances.
March 16, 2011 Kyodo News reports: A nuclear crisis at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant deepened Tuesday as fresh explosions occurred at the site and its operator said water in a pool storing spent nuclear fuel rods may be boiling, an ominous sign for the release of high-level radioactive materials from the fuel. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the water level in the pool storing the spent fuel rods at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant’s No. 4 reactor may have dropped, exposing the rods. The firm said it has not yet confirmed the current water level or water temperature in the pool and will try to pour water into the facility from Wednesday through holes that were created following an explosion earlier Tuesday in the walls of the building that houses the reactor. Unless the spent fuel rods are cooled down, they could be damaged and emit radioactive substances. *** The utility said it could not deny the possibility that the early morning explosion was caused by hydrogen generated by a chemical reaction involving the exposed spent nuclear fuel and vapor.
But it’s not just reactor number 4. Kyodo News notes: Edano said water temperatures in the pools at the No. 5 and No. 6 reactors at the Fukushima plant have been rising as well. *** The agency said among the three, the situation is the severest at the No. 4 reactor because all the fuel rods are stored in the pool due to the change of the reactor’s shroud. At the No. 5 and No. 6 reactors, up to one-third of the rods are being kept in the pools. The more fuel rods that are kept in a pool, the more radioactive substances could be emitted.
To see why this is such an ominous development, let me provide some background. The Washington Post notes: At the 40-year-old Fukushima Daiichi unit 1, where an explosion Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor, the spent fuel pool, in accordance with General Electric’s design, is placed above the reactor. Tokyo Electric said it was trying to figure out how to maintain water levels in the pools, indicating that the normal safety systems there had failed, too. Failure to keep adequate water levels in a pool would lead to a catastrophic fire, said nuclear experts, some of whom think that unit 1’s pool may now be outside. “That would be like Chernobyl on steroids,” said Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer at Fairewinds Associates and a member of the public oversight panel for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, which is identical to the Fukushima Daiichi unit 1. People familiar with the plant said there are seven spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi, many of them densely packed. Gundersen said the unit 1 pool could have as much as 20 years of spent fuel rods, which are still radioactive.
NPR provides the following graphic, showing the spent fuel pools at the top of the reactors:
Please compare the location of the spent fuel pools (near the roofline) in the NPR graphic with the following photograph: 
In some of the reactors – especially those to the right of the photo – the area in which the spent fuel pools are located appears to be severely damaged. Nuclear expert Frank N. von Hippel explained on MSNBC that heat would release all radioactivity in the spent fuel rods, so that we could get a “worst case scenario” even if we never have a Chernobyl-like meltdown:
(starting 10 minutes into video). The Christian Science Monitor writes: A particular feature of the 40-year old General Electric Mark 1 Boiling Water Reactor model – such as the six reactors at the Fukushima site – is that each reactor has a separate spent-fuel pool. These sit near the top of each reactor and adjacent to it, so that cranes can remove spent fuel from the reactor and deposit it in a swimming-pool-like concrete structure near the top of the reactor vessel, inside each reactor building. If the hydrogen explosions damaged those pools – or systems needed to keep them cool – they could become a big problem. Keeping spent-fuel pools cool is critical and could potentially be an even more severe problem than a reactor meltdown, some experts say. If water drains out, the spent fuel could produce a fire that would release vast amounts of radioactivity, nuclear experts and anti-nuclear activists warn. “There should be much more attention paid to the spent-fuel pools,” says Arjun Makhijani, a nuclear engineer and president of the anti-nuclear power Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. “If there’s a complete loss of containment [and thus the water inside], it can catch fire. There’s a huge amount of radioactivity inside – far more than is inside the reactors. The damaged reactors are less likely to spread the same vast amounts of radiation that Chernobyl did, but a spent-fuel pool fire could very well produce damage similar to or even greater than Chernobyl.” But another scientist said while the spent-fuel pools have capacity for high volumes of radioactive material, the amount of fuel currently in the spent-fuel pool might be less than widely believed, based on data he has seen showing only about as much spent fuel in the vulnerable pool as contained in the reactor.
The Nation notes: If the spent rods start to burn, huge amounts of radioactive material would be released into the atmosphere and would disperse across the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike the reactors, spent fuel pools are not—repeat not—housed in any sort of hardened or sealed containment structures. Rather, the fuel rods are packed tightly together in pools of water that are often several stories above ground. “With damaged [fuel rod] pools, we are talking about things that were never considered a credible threat,” said Alvarez. Aileen Mioko Smith, director of Green Action Kyoto, met Fukushima plant and government officials in August 2010. “At the plant they seemed to dismiss our concerns about spent fuel pools,” said Mioko Smith. “At the prefecture, they were very worried but had no plan for how to deal with it.” Remarkably, that is the norm—both in Japan and in the United States. Spent fuel pools at Fukushima are not equipped with backup water-circulation systems or backup generators for the water-circulation system they do have. The exact same design flaw is in place at Vermont Yankee, a nuclear plant of the same GE design as the Fukushima reactors. At Fukushima each reactor has between 60 and 83 tons of spent fuel rods stored next to them. Vermont Yankee has a staggering 690 tons of spent fuel rods on site. Nuclear safety activists in the United States have long known of these problems and have sought repeatedly to have them addressed. At least get backup generators for the pools, they implored. But at every turn the industry has pushed back, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has consistently ruled in favor of plant owners over local communities. After 9/11 the issue of spent fuel rods again had momentary traction. Numerous citizen groups petitioned and pressured the NRC for enhanced protections of the pools. But the NRC deemed “the possibility of a terrorist attack…speculative and simply too far removed from the natural or expected consequences of agency action.” So nothing was done—not even the provision of backup water-circulation systems or emergency power-generation systems.
Similarly, Pro Publica points out: The plants of that design also store highly radioactive spent fuel in pools outside the protective containment structure that surrounds the reactor itself. Opponents of nuclear power have warned for years that if these pools drain, either by accident or terrorist attack, it could lead to a fire and a catastrophic release of radiation. *** The nuclear industry says fears about the storage pools at U.S. plants are overblown because the pools are protected and, even if fuel is exposed to the air, the chance of a fire is incredibly small. And with limited information being released about conditions at Fukushima, the status of spent fuel pools is uncertain. *** At Fukushima, these tanks are attached to the outside of the reactor’s containment structure. The pools are deep – typically the fuel lies under 25 feet of water. Although the concrete-and-steel containment is designed to trap radiation leaks, there is no such protection for pools outside. *** Many plants have been operating for 20 years and have tons of used fuel in cooling pools. The concern is that if the water in the pools ever drops too low, the zirconium cladding that holds the radioactive fuel pellets would begin to heat up and eventually burn. And if it did, the smoke from the fire could carry radiation away from the plant because the pool is outside the containment. “People should be very concerned because the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] has acknowledged that spent fuel pools that are not located inside the containment have the potential to cause catastrophic accidents,” said Diane Curran, a lawyer who has represented environmental groups and governments in challenges to fuel storage plans. “These are not high-probability accidents,” Curran said, “but we have seen how low-probability accidents can happen.” After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Congress asked the National Academies to study the vulnerability of spent fuel to a terrorist attack. The resulting 2005 report, “Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage ,” concluded that “an attack which partially or completely drains a plant’s spent fuel pool might be capable of starting a high-temperature fire that could release large quantities of radioactive material into the environment.” The report found that the vulnerability of the spent fuel to fire depends on how old it is and how it is stored. As the fuel ages, it cools, so it becomes less susceptible to a fire. “The industry standard is that fuel that is older than five years can be dry-stored,” said Kevin Crowley, director of the nuclear and radiation board for the National Research Council, part of National Academies. The report recommended that the nuclear industry take steps to decrease the vulnerability of the storage pools to fire. Some of those steps are classified, Crowley said. But he said others, like making sure there were fire hoses or spray systems above the pools, were pretty simple. *** The nuclear industry disagreed with the national academy about the vulnerability of the spent fuel to a fire.
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| Alert: Radiation from Stricken Japanese Plant Reaches Alaska - Wednesday, March 16, 2011Bureaucrats fail to note amount of radiation reaching Alaska is from smaller magnitude release last week. March 16, 2011 Related: Alert: Fukushima Coverup, 40 Years of Spent Nuclear Rods Blown Sky High Radiation from the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster has reached Alaska, according to the state commissioner of health and social services in that state. He said the state has detected a “very small increase in radiation levels – well below levels that would be a health concern.”
“Right now, we don’t expect any radiation to affect Alaska,” Chris Laborde, the state’s emergency program manager, told KTVA in Alaska. State bureaucrats failed to note that the amount of radiation that has reached Alaska is from the smaller magnitude release from the stricken plant last week. Since then, the plant has released considerably more radiation after explosions and fires ravaged the site in Fukushima. It takes several days for prevailing winds to deliver the radiation across the Pacific Ocean. State officials describe monitoring radiation levels at stations throughout the state – in Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks – with technology that transmits the information to state and federal computers. Earlier in the week, a nuclear expert noted that the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel released from the Japanese plant would make the disaster far worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 25 years ago. “Up to 100 percent of the volatile radioactive Cesium-137 content of the pools could go up in flames and smoke, to blow downwind over large distances,” warned Kevin Kamps. “Without cooling water, the irradiated nuclear fuel could spontaneously combust in an exothermic reaction.” Alex Jones’ flagship news websites, Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com, warned that the calamity now unfolding would be far worse than government and the corporate media said last week. Although government – including the state government of Alaska – continues to downplay this unprecedented disaster, the corporate media seems to be coming around, albeit slowly. In the days ahead, the monitoring stations in Alaska and elsewhere in the United States will begin to report drastically elevated levels of radiation and bureaucrats will be obliged to tell the truth. |
| Gamma Radiation In Fukushima-Downwind Ibaraki Disclosed, 30 Times Above Normal - Tuesday, March 15, 2011For all who have been looking for realtime radiation data from Japan, you are in luck. Or maybe not, as the data unfortunately indicates nothing good. Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
March 15, 2011 For all who have been looking for realtime radiation data from Japan, you are in luck. Or maybe not, as the data unfortunately indicates nothing good. The System for Prediction of Environment Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI) releases gamma radiation data online. The site is jittery and apparently not suited for major traffic which is why we represent several screen captures of the data. While it is not surprising that according to the website both Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures are entirely “Under Survey” as it makes sense that the government does not want to generate panic, SPEEDI has disclosed some tell-tale data about cities in Ibaraki prefecture, which is just a hundred or so miles north of Tokyo, and is just south of the ill-fated Fukushima prefecture. And the data is stunning: based on a N, NE and NNE wind direction (where it originates), meaning all coming from Fukushima, with a normal reading in the 80 nGy/h range, the city of Kounosu Naka is at 3,024, Kadobe Naka is at 2,416, Isobe Hitachioota is at 1,213 and many others are in the mid to upper triple digit range! Again, this is based on wind coming out of Fukushima and ultimately headed toward the capital. Indicatively, normal terrestrial plus cosmic gamma radiation is about 80 nGy/h. Below we present screencaptures as of moments ago, as apparently the Japanese government seems to believe that abnormal gamma radiation levels are perfectly notmal: A map of all prefectures, showing maximum gamma radation readings. Note Ibaraki at 3,024 nGy/h, and Kanagawa right below it (and downwind) at 224 nGy/h compared to low double digts for all other prefecture. 
Not surprisingly, Fukushima is completely N/A, as every single reading is Under Survey, also known as censored. 
But the stunner is Ibaraki. We will let this one speak for itself: 
As a reference, based on background radiation measurements in the lower atmosphere at different altitudes above sea level up to 1100 m and over the land were made at a temperate latitude (40°) in the Thessaloniki region, North Greece, before and after the Chernobyl accident (26 April 1986), using a portable γ-ray scintillation detector and a Cutie-pie survey meter with an ionization chamber, the average value of the total background radiation at ground level was 87 nGy h-1 (10.0 μR h-1, 25 cps), i.e. 60% from terrestrial radiation, 55 nGy h-1 (6.3 μR h-1, 15 cps) and 40% from cosmic radiation, 32 nGy h-1 (3.7 μR h-1, 10 cps), before the Chernobyl accident, while, after it, the total background radiation was doubled, due to the long-lived radioactive fallout suspended in the atmosphere and or deposited onto the ground. read more ... |
| U.S. Navy: Low-level radiation detected at some Tokyo-area bases - Tuesday, March 15, 2011The Navy said very low levels of airborne radiation were detected Tuesday morning at greater Tokyo-area bases in Yokosuka and Atsugi, prompting commanders to direct base residents to remain indoors as a precaution. ERIK SLAVIN
Stars and Stripes
March 15, 2011 NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan — The Navy said very low levels of airborne radiation were detected Tuesday morning at greater Tokyo-area bases in Yokosuka and Atsugi, prompting commanders to direct base residents to remain indoors as a precaution. At 7 a.m., the aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka Naval Base detected elevated radiation levels, according to a U.S. Navy 7th Fleet statement. The Navy said the elevated levels were associated with the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, located about 200 miles to the north. A level of 0.5 millirems of radiation was detected at Atsugi with similar levels at Yokosuka, said Atsugi public affairs officer Tim McGough. The radiation was detected coming from winds blowing from the northeast, he said. “We’re not expecting this to last long,” McGough said. “Winds should be changing early this afternoon, we’re told.” Officials at Camp Fuji, Camp Zama and Yokota Air Base, all in the Tokyo area, told Stars and Stripes that they had not detected elevated levels of radiation as of about noon Tuesday. read more ... |
| Fuel rod fire at Fukushima reactor “would be like Chernobyl on steroids” - Tuesday, March 15, 2011Kirk James Murphy | Chernobyl’s contamination settled upon people and nations thousands of miles from that reactor’s location. Kirk James Murphy
FDL
March 14, 2011 The Fukushima reactor building that exploded March 12 is one of a series of identical General Electric reactors constructed in Japan and the US. In this reactor design, the used nuclear fuel rods are stored in pools of water at the top of the reactor building. These “spent” rods are still highly radioactive: the radioactivity is so great the rods must be stored in water so they do not combust. The explosion at Fukushima Daiichi reactor unit 1 apparently destroyed at least one wall and the roof of the building: some reports stated the roof had collapsed into the building. Two days later, the nearby building containing the plutonium-uranium (MOX) fueled Fuksuhima Daichii reactor unit 3 exploded. So why bother about the rubble of reactor No 1? The WaPo quotes a nuclear engineer who knows the answer: Although Tokyo Electric said it also continued to deal with cooling system failures and high pressures at half a dozen of its 10 reactors in the two Fukushima complexes, fears mounted about the threat posed by the pools of water where years of spent fuel rods are stored. At the 40-year-old Fukushima Daiichi unit 1, where an explosion Saturday destroyed a building housing the reactor, the spent fuel pool, in accordance with General Electric’s design, is placed above the reactor. Tokyo Electric said it was trying to figure out how to maintain water levels in the pools, indicating that the normal safety systems there had failed, too. Failure to keep adequate water levels in a pool would lead to a catastrophic fire, said nuclear experts, some of whom think that unit 1’s pool may now be outside. “That would be like Chernobyl on steroids,” said Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer at Fairewinds Associates and a member of the public oversight panel for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, which is identical to the Fukushima Daiichi unit 1. People familiar with the plant said there are seven spent fuel pools at Fukushima Daiichi, many of them densely packed. Gundersen said the unit 1 pool could have as much as 20 years of spent fuel rods, which are still radioactive.
We’d be lucky if we only had to worry about the spent fuel rods from a single holding pool. We’re not that lucky. The Fukushima Daiichi plant has seven pools for spent fuel rods. Six of these are (or were) located at the top of six reactor buildings. One “common pool” is at ground level in a separate building. Each “reactor top” pool holds 3450 fuel rod assemblies. The common pool holds 6291 fuel rod assemblies. [The common pool has windows on one wall which were almost certainly destroyed by the tsunami.] Each assembly holds sixty-three fuel rods. This means the Fukushima Daiichi plant may contain over 600,000 spent fuel rods. The fuel rods must be kept submerged in water. Why? Outside of the water bath, the radioactivity in the used rods can cause them to become so hot they begin to catch fire. These fires can burn so hot the radioactive rod contents are carried into the atmosphere as vaporized material or as very small particles. Reactor no 3 burns MOX fuel that contains a mix of plutonium and uranium. Plutonium generates more heat than uranium, which means these rods have the greatest risk of burning. That’s bad news, because plutonium scattered into the atmosphere is even more dangerous that the combustion products of rods without plutonium. Chernobyl on steroids. When the nuclear engineer from an identical plant states there’s any possibility of such a catastrophe, Washington, we have a problem. Chernobyl’s contamination settled upon people and nations thousands of miles from that reactor’s location. How far would “Chernobyl on steroids” travel? And where are the up to 20 years of reactor no 1 spent fuel rods that could cause such a problem, and the spent fuel rods held – until the building exploded – in the spent fuel rod pool atop reactor no 3? Along with the rest of the planet, Washington’s looking at the risk of a potential catastrophe. At least when it comes to finding the fuel rods from reactor 1, Washington possesses some unique assets. One asset – the secretive National Reconassiance Office – runs the spy satellites remote sensing devices that enable US national security to spy on planet Earth. The NRO’s slightly less secretive cousin over at the the Pentagon is the Defense Intelligence Agency. The DIA, in turn, controls MASINT “measures and signatures technologies”. What is MASINT? FDL’s recent guest Tim Shorrock answered that question a few years ago for CorpWatch: MASINT is a highly classified form of intelligence that uses infrared sensors and other technologies to “sniff” the atmosphere for certain chemicals and electro-magnetic activity and “see” beneath bridges and forest canopies. Using its tools, analysts can detect signs that a nuclear power plant is producing plutonium, determine from truck exhaust what types of vehicles are in a convoy, and detect people and weapons hidden from the view of satellites or photoreconnaissance aircraft.
With assets like the NRO and the DIA’s MASINT capacity, even an Obama administration that couldn’t find out millions of of barrels of Corexit and crude oil would poison the Gulf should be able to help Japan’s Fukushima plant locate their missing fuel rods. And do so before the missing rods – or any of the other pools of fuel rods in Japan’s stricken reactors – ignite Chernobyl on steroids. Once Obama and his generals have found the fuel rods, let’s hope they’ll time out from Gridion dinners and collateral damage and let the Americans who pay for all the fancy spy technology know what’s happening. Because now that Americans are hearing CNN’s Dr. Gupta talking about potassium iodide (KI) to prevent radiation toxicity, they’re going to be wondering if they need to take KI. As long as we don’t see massive uncontrolled radiation releases from the stricken reactors, they probably won’t. Should we see Chernobyl on steroids, Americans may need a whole lot more than KI. And until the spent fuel rods are located, there won’t be enough information to let Americans plan how to protect their loved ones. Unless we all learn the fuel rods have caught fire. read more ... |
| Japan braces for potential radiation catastrophe - Tuesday, March 15, 2011Reuters | Spent nuclear fuel was exposed to the atmosphere. Reuters
March 15, 2011 Japan faced a potential catastrophe on Tuesday after a quake-crippled nuclear power plant exploded and sent low levels of radiation floating towards Tokyo, prompting some people to flee the capital and others to stock up on essential supplies. The crisis appeared to escalate late in the day when the operators of the facility said that one of two blasts had blown a hole in the building housing a reactor, which meant spent nuclear fuel was exposed to the atmosphere. Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged people within 30 km (18 miles) of the facility — a population of 140,000 — to remain indoors amid the world’s most serious nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986. read more ... |
| Tokyo Exodus Beginning? - Tuesday, March 15, 2011Zero Hedge | “There is a growing sense that the Japanese government is not telling us the true story.” Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
March 15, 2011 Editor’s note: Update – from BBC News: 1049: Jack Edney in Chiyodaku, Tokyo writes: “Almost all of my friends here in the capital have left Tokyo with their families. They are scared about radiation reaching Tokyo and also many of their parents’ companies are taking them either down south, or out of Japan altogether. School has been cancelled and it is all really slow here. I really do hope that I won’t have to leave as well.” 1049: Jack Edney in Chiyodaku, Tokyo writes: “Almost all of my friends here in the capital have left Tokyo with their families. They are scared about radiation reaching Tokyo and also many of their parents’ companies are taking them either down south, or out of Japan altogether. School has been cancelled and it is all really slow here. I really do hope that I won’t have to leave as well.” If the following letter posted by the BBC Blog is indicative of prevailing popular mood in the Japanese capital now that the government has lost credibility (as Zero Hedge predicted on Saturday), Tokyo may soon be a ghost town. Mikan in Tokyo writes: “There is a growing sense that the Japanese government is not telling us the true story. On one end, there is the Japanese media that plays down the nuclear drama and focuses on human drama, and at the other, the foreign media is up-playing the nuclear disaster. In my company I heard at least half the essential staff is being sent to Hong Kong, Singapore or even Sydney. I am preparing to leave Tokyo and/or Japan. So are many of my friends. There is a sense of deserting Tokyo as soon as possible.”
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| U.S. Government Blocking Americans From Obtaining Potassium Iodide? - Tuesday, March 15, 2011U.S. Government Blocking Americans From Obtaining Potassium Iodide? Doctor refuses to prescribe drug after “conversation” with CDC; Amazon.com imposes one month waiting period as supplies sell out on back of panic buying Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 RELATED: Panic Buying: Stocks Of Potassium Iodide Exhausted In U.S. U.S. health authorities could be blocking Americans from obtaining the radiation-fighting drug potassium iodide, even as the threat of a radioactive cloud from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant affecting the United States prompts panic buying, which has led to stocks of the drug running out across the country.
High strength potassium iodide is a once-a-day-pill than protects the thyroid gland from radiation and cancer caused by radioactive iodine. There are also weaker liquid forms of the drug that provide less protection, but supplies of these are also running low. A caller to The Alex Jones Show today related how he tried to obtain potassium iodide via prescription from his doctor having failed to buy it over the counter due to stocks being completely exhausted. “Yesterday afternoon (roughly 1400PST), the Urgent Care in Ventura, California, denied me a prescription for KI (potassium iodide): an over the counter, salt,” writes Michael (surname withheld). “The reason for denying me a prescription was predicated upon the Doctors conversation, with both CDC and DHSC representatives, whom discouraged it. After asking her if she took government orders, she replied, “No, but I do take their recommendations.” “As KI is unavailable in Ventura right now and I was unable to get a prescription, which the pharmacy required, I am still without a supply of KI,” adds Michael. The U.S. government has so far refused to stockpile supplies of the drug despite the threat of a nuclear disaster nearing the scale of Chernobyl. “The federal government has never purchased enough to meet that standard,” reports CNN. “There is currently only enough of the medication available for populations living within 10 miles of nuclear reactors in the United States, according to U.S. officials.” We are also receiving other unconfirmed reports that certain chemists and health stores that do have small amounts of the drug are refusing to sell it to customers, citing the excuse that it could be used for the production of methamphetamine As we documented in our earlier article, stocks of the drug are all but exhausted across the United States, with packets of 14 tablets selling for around $300 dollars on eBay. We have received scores of emails and calls from Alex Jones Show listeners who cannot find potassium iodide anywhere. The massive surge in sales of the drug has been driven by the worsening nuclear crisis in Japan and reports that the radiation cloud now starting to affect Tokyo and other areas could reach the west coast of the United States within a week. Meanwhile, the panic buying that has gripped online health retailers as well as stores across America has prompted Amazon.com to issue an email to every customer who tries to purchase potassium iodide, noting how the situation in Japan has, “rightfully unnerved the masses,” in America. “We have been inundated with thousands of orders for Potassium Iodide, from all corners of the world. The warehouse stock and the manufacturer’s warehouse were emptied on the weekend. The manufacturer is trying to make more of these tablets to meet demand but our waiting period is expected to be at least one month at this stage,” states the email. Amazon is encouraging its customers to purchase Thyroshield, a liquid form of Potassium Iodide, instead of the stronger potassium iodide. Only potassium iodide at a minimum strength of 130 mg is guaranteed to completely protect against radioactive fallout, although weaker liquid forms will go some way to offering protection against low doses of radiation. It is important to stress that high-strength potassium iodide of the 130 mg or above variety should only be taken in a nuclear fallout emergency and not under any other circumstances. |
| All THREE damaged nuclear reactors now in ‘meltdown’ - Tuesday, March 15, 2011Mail Online | Fuel rods appear to be melting inside three over-heating reactors. Richard Shears
Mail Online
March 14, 2011 The Japanese nuclear reactor hit by the tsunami went into ‘meltdown’ today, as officials admitted that fuel rods appear to be melting inside three damaged reactors. There is a risk that molten nuclear fuel can melt through the reactor’s safety barriers and cause a serious radiation leak. There have already been explosions inside two over-heating reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, and the fuel rods inside a third were partially exposed as engineers desperately fight to keep them cool after the tsunami knocked out systems. read more ... |
| Japanese PM Attempts to Calm Nation as Massive Radiation Spreads - Tuesday, March 15, 2011Tokyo Electric Power Company, in collusion with the Japanese government, is deliberately misinforming and thus endangering the people of Japan, the surrounding region, and eventually the United States and other countries that may be downwind from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. CNN reports this morning that a fire at the plant has released dangerous radiation, but the Japanese power company refuses to divulge exactly how much. “It was unclear how much radioactive material may have been emitted, or what kind of health threat that could pose,” reports CNN. Stratfor reports that within three hours of the latest explosion at the plant the amount of radiation rose to 163 times the previously recorded level, according to Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The levels are now 400 times the “annual legal limit” at reactor No. 3. Stratfor continues: Reports from Japanese media currently tell of rising radiation levels in the areas south and southwest of the troubled plant due to a change in wind direction toward the southwest. Ibaraki prefecture, immediately south of Fukushima, was reported to have higher than normal levels. Chiba prefecture, to the east of Tokyo and connected to the metropolitan area, saw levels reportedly two to four times above the “normal” level. Utsunomiya, Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo, reported radiation at 33 times the normal level measured there. Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo, reported radiation at up to nine times the normal level. Finally, a higher than normal amount was reported in Tokyo. The government says radiation levels have reached levels hazardous to human health.
The combined population of the Tokyo-Yokohama area is over 33 million, by far the world’s largest. Metro New York comes in second at nearly 18 million. Tokyo residents are currently filing outbound trains and rushing to shops to stock up on face masks and emergency supplies. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kanwent on national television and told the nation that radioactive levels are significantly higher around the Fukushima nuclear plant after another explosion, although he understated the danger. He urged public calm and acknowledged one of the damaged reactors is facing a much higher risk of releasing radiation into the atmosphere.
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| Panic Buying: Stocks Of Potassium Iodide Exhausted In U.S. - Tuesday, March 15, 2011Paul Joseph Watson | Health websites sold out, readers struggle to find radiation-fighting pills anywhere. Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
March 15, 2011 
We are getting numerous reports from readers that stocks of potassium iodide, which is used to protect the body against the effects of nuclear fallout, are completely sold out across the United States. Checks of health supplement websites in the U.S. also confirmed that stocks are completely exhausted. With the threat of radioactive particles from the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactor complex drifting towards the United States on prevailing easterly winds, many Americans are attempting to protect themselves by acquiring potassium iodide, which protects the thyroid gland from radiation and cancer caused by radioactive iodine. U.S. manufacturers of potassium iodide have been swamped with demand, reports CNN. One Williamsburg, Virginia-based company “Has received hundreds, if not thousands, of calls from potential buyers in Asia as well as repeat U.S. customers suddenly seeking to replenish their stockpiles of the drug.” The U.S. government has said that it will not stockpile any further supplies of potassium iodide, which has only increased demand from Americans who are struggling to find it anywhere. “The federal government has never purchased enough to meet that standard. There is currently only enough of the medication available for populations living within 10 miles of nuclear reactors in the United States, according to U.S. officials,” an amount Alan Morris, president of Anbex Inc, slams as being completely insufficient. Morris points to the fact that the fallout from the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which was spread all around the northern hemisphere, led to over a million deaths because of radiation poisoning according to some estimates, causing thyroid cancer in children living in surrounding countries. “U.S. drug stores are reporting a sudden increase in sales of over-the-counter anti-radiation pills, despite assurances from health officials that Americans are not at risk from Japanese nuclear reactors,” reports Fox News. Some less than ethical private retailers are exploiting the shortages to charge nearly $300 for one pack of tablets, which normally retail at around the $15 level. It is important to stress that high-strength potassium iodide of the 130 mg variety shown in the image above should only be taken in a nuclear fallout emergency and not under any other circumstances. Watch a video simulation of how the Chernobyl radiation cloud affected the whole of Europe, causing governments to severely restrict cattle movements and food safety standards as far away as England and Wales.
Here are a couple of emails we received today; I went to the Whole Foods Market in Arlington, Texas last night to get a bottle of kelp and they were out and totally out of potassium iodide. They would not get a shipment, if any, by this Friday. Are people in this area more aware of what is going on in Japan than the people in Austin? I hope so. Respectfully, Doug ——————————- Good Luck finding any Potassium Iodide in the United States! Went on the internet and contacted all manufacturers, suppliers, health food stores, etc. NO ONE HAS ANY! Just says temporarily out of stock on all websites…..What little was available is gone and the earliest they expect it is sometime possibly next month or the following month! Iosat manufactured and distributed by Anbex Inc. doesn’t even have it available.Good God… how would we get it if we needed it now? Think the Government is going to help get it to us? Don’t think so! No one is saying anything about this little problem! Elaine |
| Mass Evacuations Begin From North East Of Japan, Tokyo - Tuesday, March 15, 2011As the scale of the nuclear disaster unfolding at the stricken Fukushima’s nuclear plant begins to be finally realised, despite the Japanese government’s continued underplaying of the situation, mass evacuations are are underway with people fleeing Tokyo and North Eastern areas of the country in order to avoid a toxic cloud of radiation heading their way. Russian military prepares for nuclear fallout Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
March 15, 2011 As the scale of the nuclear disaster unfolding at the stricken Fukushima’s nuclear plant begins to be finally realised, despite the Japanese government’s continued underplaying of the situation, mass evacuations are are underway with people fleeing Tokyo and North Eastern areas of the country in order to avoid a toxic cloud of radiation heading their way. China became the first government to issue a mass evacuation order of all its citizens from the entire north east of Japan late last night. Citing “the seriousness of and uncertainty surrounding the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant at present”, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo announced that it would be sending buses to evacuate all Chinese nationals from the Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate prefectures. There are thought to be over 22 thousand Chinese nationals working in those areas. Those that are bussed out will be flown out of the country via China Southern Airlines on huge 272 seater jets. Austria followed suit by announcing it would be moving its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka, over 250 miles (400 kilometers) away, due to radiation concerns. France and Finland have also urged their citizens to leave Tokyo and either move to the South of Japan or get out of the country altogether. The Czech military has reportedly sent in planes to evacuate its nationals, While Russia says it is preparing to remove all of its soldiers and civilians from the Kuril islands, which are disputed with Japan. Inside Russia, in the Far East of the country, military units are reportedly preparing to evacuate towns on concerns of nuclear fallout, while residents are rushing to buy iodine pills. The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has issued a warning to Americans saying they “should avoid travel to Japan at this time.” Several other European countries have done the same. Reuters reports that several multinational companies have also issued evacuation orders, yet American based companies, including JP Morgan and Citigroup banks have refrained from doing so because they are following guidance by the U.S. embassy, which has not urged nationals to leave Tokyo. Airlines including Lufthansa have begun canceling flights to Tokyo. Journalists, tourists and even residents are also lining up at airports to get away as soon as they can, according to reports. Those that have stayed have emptied the shelves of grocery stores in Tokyo, which have practically all sold out of rice, noodles and bread and other items such as radios, flashlights, candles, fuel cans and sleeping bags. The prevailing popular mood in the Japanese capital now seems to be that the public is not being told of the true scale of the danger they are in and the government cannot be trusted as a reliable source of information. Many have chosen to simply leave as quickly as possible |
| Japan radioactivity could enter food chain, children at risk - Tuesday, March 15, 2011Radioactive materials spewed into the air by Japan’s earthquake-crippled nuclear plant may contaminate food and water resources, with children and unborn babies most at risk of possibly developing cancer. Tan Ee Lyn
Reuters
March 15, 2011 Radioactive materials spewed into the air by Japan’s earthquake-crippled nuclear plant may contaminate food and water resources, with children and unborn babies most at risk of possibly developing cancer. Experts said any exposure to radioactive materials has the potential to cause various kinds of cancers, with higher levels of radiation seen as more dangerous. But they said they needed more accurate measurements for the level of radioactivity in Japan, and the region, to give a proper risk assessment. “The explosions could expose the population to longer-term radiation, which can raise the risk of cancer. These are thyroid cancer, bone cancer and leukemia. Children and fetuses are especially vulnerable,” said Lam Ching-wan, chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong. read more ... |
| Ghosts of Chernobyl: Meltdown spectre haunts humanity despite techno know-how - Tuesday, March 15, 2011The Japanese disasters have raised questions as to whether nuclear technology can ever be called safe to use. EU nuclear experts are considering if the union should eventually move away from nuclear energy. RT
March 15, 2011 The Japanese disasters have raised questions as to whether nuclear technology can ever be called safe to use. EU nuclear experts are considering if the union should eventually move away from nuclear energy.
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| Radioactive Winds Head Towards Tokyo As Some Flee Capital - Tuesday, March 15, 2011With Japanese authorities confirming that the third blast at Fukushima’s stricken nuclear plant caused radioactive particles to be released directly into the atmosphere, localized winds are blowing the radiation towards Tokyo, causing many to flee the capital, but the longer term trajectory of upper atmosphere prevailing winds will still send any potential radiation cloud towards the U.S. west coast. Upper atmosphere prevailing winds will send potential “radiation cloud” towards U.S. west coast Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Global Jet Stream Map for March 13-21. Following a third explosion at the plant as well as a fire in another reactor, radioactive material is now leaking directly into the atmosphere at a rate of 400 milliseverts per hour, according to The International Atomic Energy Agency. Anyone who is exposed to more than 100 milliseverts a year risks contracting cancer. Higher than normal levels of radiation have already been detected in Tokyo, with readings up to ten times higher than normal measured in Chiba, which is 15 miles from the capital. Gamma radiation levels in the Ibaraki prefecture, which is just a hundred or so miles north of Tokyo, are 30 times higher than normal. The French embassy, which already advised its citizens to leave Tokyo on Sunday, warns that low level radioactive winds could reach the capital within hours. The Japan Meteorological Agency says that the winds are currently blowing in a “southwesterly direction that includes Tokyo.” “The Japan Meteorological Agency official said wind speeds will increase on Wednesday, blowing south at three to five meters (10 to 16 ft) per second before changing later in the day to blow easterly out to the Pacific Ocean at a faster rate of five to 12 meters (16 to 39 ft) per second,” reports Reuters. South Korea’s Meteorological Administration also concurs that the winds will later head east out into the Pacific, a forecast also backed up by the United Nations’ weather agency. The fact that the winds are set to change to an easterly direction and blow any radiation out to sea is good news for Japan, but it won’t be of any comfort to Americans living on the west coast. As we have documented, prevailing jet stream winds in the upper atmosphere will carry any radiation towards Alaska, California and Hawaii. If the radiation leak is significant enough not to be dispersed over the Pacific Ocean, it will take roughly seven days to reach the United States. As Accuweather.com notes, the threat of radiation reaching the west coast of the U.S. depends, “Upon how high the cloud rose into the atmosphere. This is because the winds normally vary widely between the near-surface and the upper atmosphere, home to the eastward-flowing jet stream.” “Generally speaking, any radioactive cloud rising significantly into the atmosphere would travel essentially eastward and northeastward across the Pacific Ocean, eventually reaching North America anywhere between Alaska and California. The precise details as to timing and path taken would depend upon the state of the atmosphere at the time of the hypothetical radiation release.” The potential for significant radioactive fallout over Tokyo, which has a population of around 13 million, has prompted some residents to flee the capital. Any widespread exodus would cause absolute chaos and would be worsened by the fact that the country is already trying to recover from a devastating earthquake and tsunami. “Almost all of my friends here in the capital have left Tokyo with their families,” Jack Edney told the BBC. “They are scared about radiation reaching Tokyo and also many of their parents’ companies are taking them either down south, or out of Japan altogether.” Another resident in Tokyo told the BBC, “There is a growing sense that the Japanese government is not telling us the true story. On one end, there is the Japanese media that plays down the nuclear drama and focuses on human drama, and at the other, the foreign media is up-playing the nuclear disaster. In my company I heard at least half the essential staff is being sent to Hong Kong, Singapore or even Sydney. I am preparing to leave Tokyo and/or Japan. So are many of my friends. There is a sense of deserting Tokyo as soon as possible.” It is now clear that the Tokyo Electric Power Company has completely botched the crisis surrounding the Fukushima nuclear facility and is now engaged in a desperate cover-up. Even the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is being kept in the dark as to what is unfolding at the stricken plant. According to the BBC and Japan’s Kyodo news, “The TV reported an explosion. But nothing was said to the premier’s office for about an hour,” a Kyodo News reporter overheard Mr Kan saying during a meeting with company executives. “What the hell is going on?” read more ... |
| Fukushima nuclear catastrophe forces world to rethink future of nuclear power - Tuesday, March 15, 2011With one massive lurch, planet Earth has put an end to the nuclear power “renaissance” that was gaining momentum around the world as a safe, clean energy source. Mike Adams,
Natural News
March 15, 2011 With one massive lurch, planet Earth has put an end to the nuclear power “renaissance” that was gaining momentum around the world as a safe, clean energy source. For the last few decades, nuclear power looked quite good compared to the dirty coal industry which fuels most of the world’s power plants. Except for the Chernobyl accident which was considered an aberration stemming from truly moronic nuclear plant design (no containment structure? Who cares!), the nuclear power industry had a relatively clean safety record. Even the famous Three Mile Island incident seemed tiny in the current scope of world events. But in mere moments, Mother Nature showed the world how vulnerable nuclear power plants really are to the whims of the unexpected. Today, Japan continues to battle the potential meltdown of several nuclear reactors (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi…). A “partial meltdown” has already occurred, and nuclear fuel rods have reportedly been exposed to the open air in at least one case, causing a noticeable radiation leak that has potentially impacted thousands of Japanese citizens (http://www.suntimes.com/4317306-417…). Even several U.S. military personnel have already been exposed to the radiation. (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english20…) The damaged nuclear reactors were made by General Electric, and there are nearly two dozen of the same reactors operating right now in the United States. France currently supplies roughly 80 percent of its own power from nuclear sources. Japan had 55 nuclear power plants before the tsunami. It is not yet known how many will be operational after this disaster. Northeast Japan turned into a “war zone”Meanwhile, radiation levels around the damaged nuclear power plants are already rising, reports Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011…). The evacuation zone current extends to a 20km radius around the damaged Fukushima power plant. The sudden loss of nuclear power — combined with the devastating effects of the tsunami flood — have turned much of northeast Japan into a “war zone” (http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/…) where grocery store shelves have been stripped bare of food while other critical supplies are long gone (fuel, clean water, emergency medicine, etc.). Radiation levels are rising to alarming levels, causing the government to warn its citizens to “stay indoors” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world…). “Now we are talking about levels that can damage human health. These are readings taken near the area where we believe the releases are happening,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. I’m one of the people who has been warning readers about coming events that will rock our world, by the way. While I don’t even attempt to predict specific earthquakes or industrial disasters, in January of this year, I wrote, “I believe the changes that will occur in the next two years will rock the foundations of our economies, governments and belief systems. In the end, after considerable turmoil, I see a great expansion of human consciousness and a maturing of the human race.” (http://www.naturalnews.com/030903_p…) The end of nuclear power in JapanIn looking beyond the current crisis, perhaps the bigger question is “How will Japan be able to restore its power infrastructureafterthis event?” The public, now utterly horrified by the fear and the threat of death posed by existing nuclear power plants, will have no appetite whatsoever for restoring their function. Existing nuclear plants may even be shuttered by politicians looking to win favor from terrified voters. Japan is now facing a post-nuclear era in which it must find a new power source to replace many gigawatts (GW) of power. Electricity is the lifeblood of Japan’s economy. Without an abundance of affordable electricity, Japan’s entire manufacturing base collapses (and with it, millions of jobs for Japanese citizens). Even right now, Toyota will lose its output capacity for 40,000 automobiles, reports Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-…). Sony, Toshiba, Nissan and Honda are also being fiercely impacted by the loss of power there. This puts an impossible squeeze on Japan’s political leaders: On one hand, they need cheap, scalable power (nuclear power plants) in order to feed the factories that employ much of the workforce there. On the other hand, the renewed fear in nuclear power will mean that any politician backing the continued use of nuclear power plants in Japan will be committing political suicide. So what’s the solution? Japan must now seek a breakthrough clean, safe energy source that doesn’t require burning coal or radioactive fuel rods. That’s what must now occur in the aftermath of this combination earthquake / tsunami / nuclear power plant disaster in Japan: The human race must discard old belief systems about energy sources and begin to seriously explore alternative science and the promise of cleaner, cheaper and far safer energy sources through technologies such as Low Energy Nuclear Reactions — a technology that was once called “cold fusion” and widely ridiculed by all the usual suspects: Conventional physicists, skeptics, government scientists and the like. Today’s it’s alive and well, even being used by the U.S. Navy. (http://www.naturalnews.com/025925_c…) Solar and wind just won’t cut itIn searching for clean, renewable power solutions, don’t leap to the conclusion that solar power or wind power can somehow restore all these lost gigawatts of electricity. Japan doesn’t have the physical land mass to install all the solar panels needed for such an ambitious project… even if it could magically materialize all the solar panels out of thin air! Wind power is limited on several fronts: It’s ugly, noisy, dangerous to birds and required a very long supply chain of engineering, construction and installation. It interferes with ships and relies on huge quantities of rare earth metals that have to be exported from China — the very country that recently threatened to block all exports of those metals in order to settle a political dispute with Japan (http://www.naturalnews.com/028028_r…). Japan needs to get serious about researching free energy technologies that actually aren’t “free” energy devices but rather energy channeling devices that only seem to generate free energy. As any physicists knows, even the empty vacuum of space is teeming with vast quantities of energy woven into the fabric of spacetime itself. In fact, famous physicists such as Stephen Hawking argue that our entire universe (and everything in it, including all the dark matter) suddenly and spontaneously appeared out of exactly nothing. “Bodies such as stars and black holes cannot just appear out of nothing,” Hawking explains in his recent bookThe Grand Design. “But a whole universe can.” If a whole universe can appear from out of nothing, teasing out a few gigawatts of seemingly “free” power potential from the vacuum of empty space seems like child’s play in comparison. Of course, Japanese scientists are not God, but we’re not asking them to create the entire universe — just to find a clever way to extract some power potential from the fabric of reality and channel it into the power grid. The suppression of free energy technologies must now endBy the way, here’s the real secret in all this — the truth that virtually no one dares talk about:Such free energy technologies already existand have existed for decades. They have all been unilaterally suppressed by oil barons, governments and powerful corporations because the profits to be had from other, more costly sources of power were just too tempting to pass up. The list of assassinated free energy inventors is a long one, indeed. I interviewed Dr. Brian O’Leary on this very subject in 2009. You can hear this interview in Health Ranger Show #59 at this link:http://www.naturalnews.com/Index-Po… Japan is now faced with a situation where they suddenly need a practical, scalable “free” energy technology that doesn’t go nuclear following a tsunami. And perhaps that’s the good news in all this, if there’s any to be found: From desperation and disaster,humanity must mature and evolve into a race of beings with greater humility and a deeper appreciation of the raw power of Mother Nature. To play God with nuclear fuel rods — or GE seeds for that matter — is to risk being shrugged off the planetary lifescape in the blink of an eye. With nuclear power, and GMOs, and pharmaceutical chemicals, we are playing God with the future of life on our planet, and that is a risky, fragile proposition that should give us all pause to reconsider our actions. Humanity has so far failed the test of lifeTo move forward as a civilization on planet Earth, we must first master the basic skills of not destroying ourselves while simultaneously not destroying the planet at the same time. As of the year 2011, humanity has mastered neither (and failed at both). In the great test of respecting life on our planet, humanity currently earns a big ugly “F”. The human suffering, loss of life, and property damage in Japan is, after all, wholly the consequence of humanity’s own lack of foresight or respect for the awesome power of Mother Nature. After all, earthquakes and tsunamis have been occurring on our planet for literally billions of years. But it was only recently that modern man decided to build nuclear power plants on the shores of land masses, exposing them to the inevitable tsunami wave assaults that recently struck Japan. It’s almost as if we’re begging to be destroyed… and we’re tempting Mother Nature at every opportunity. You cannot blame this disaster on Mother Nature. Ultimately, for anyone who observes this situation with wisdom, you must point the finger at the short-sightedness of human beings and the egoistic, arrogant belief in “science” that thinks clever technology can somehow overcome the laws of inevitability. With these nuclear power plants,science has failed us yet again by creating a situation that now threatens virtually an entire nation with the very real possibility of mass radiation poisoning via a nuclear power plant meltdown. Let us hope this devastating situation can somehow be avoided. More importantly, let us pray that humanity can be humbled by this experience and learn to operate with greater respect for Mother Nature and less misplaced faith in “scientific technology” that has been misrepresented and sold to us as “safe” and “clean” when, in reality, it threatens the very future of life on our planet. read more ... |
| Are We In Danger of Radioactive Exposure from the Japanese Nuclear Leaks? - Tuesday, March 15, 2011If we could rely on the Japanese and American governments to inform us of any danger, we wouldn’t have to be so vigilant. Washington’s Blog
March 15, 2011 If we could rely on the Japanese and American governments to inform us of any danger, we wouldn’t have to be so vigilant. But given the American government’s cover up of the severity of the BP oil disaster, the health risk to New Yorkers after 9/11, and numerous other health issues, we will have to educate and empower ourselves. As ABC News notes, experts says that Japan has a long history of nuclear cover-ups. The New York Times points out: The different radioactive materials being reported at the nuclear accidents in Japan range from relatively benign to extremely worrisome.The central problem in assessing the degree of danger is that the amounts of various radioactive releases into the environment are now unknown, as are the winds and other atmospheric factors that determine how radioactivity will disperse around the stricken plants.
BBC reports (scroll down on left side): Japanese engineer Masashi Goto, who helped design the containment vessel for Fukushima’s reactor core, says the design was not enough to withstand earthquakes or tsunami …
Indeed, Goto said: “It is difficult to say, but that would be a core meltdown. If the rods fall and mix with water, the result would be an explosion of solid material like a volcano spreading radioactive material. Steam or a hydrogen explosion caused by the mix would spread radioactive waste more than 50km. Also, this would be multiplied. There are many reactors in the area so there would be many Chernobyls.
And Goto accused the Japanese government of deliberately withholding vital information that would allow outside experts help solve the problems: For example, there has not been enough information about the hydrogen being vented. We don’t know how much was vented and how radioactive it was.
France is also accusing Japan of downplaying the nuclear threat. And Haarertz notes: Since the Japanese government has not provided accurate information regarding the possible threat posed by the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, experts in Israel and abroad are divided on the scope of the disaster and the ramifications for the environment.
How Bad?
How bad is Japan’s nuclear crisis? It’s hard to tell. There are currently 3 Japanese nuclear reactors experiencing meltdown (and all 3 have exploded), and at least 3 more are in trouble. The “Hail Mary” efforts to use seawater to cool the reactors has failed. And even the Japanese government is now talking about damage to core containment structures. As MSN notes: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters that “damage appears on the suppression pool” — the bottom part of the container, which contains water used to cool down the reactor and control air pressure inside. “But we have not recorded any sudden jump in radiation indicators,” Edano said without elaborating. If confirmed, it will be the first direct damage to the reactor since a massive earthquake and tsunami battered Japan’s northeast coast on Friday, knocking out nuclear plants in Fukushima, north of Tokyo.
Kyodo News is reporting higher radiation levels North of Tokyo after the blast at reactor number 2. In addition, the Christian Science Monitor notes that peculiar design of the Fukushima reactors may mean that spent fuel rods release far more radiation than the reactors themselves: A particular feature of the 40-year old General Electric Mark 1 Boiling Water Reactor model – such as the six reactors at the Fukushima site – is that each reactor has a separate spent-fuel pool. These sit near the top of each reactor and adjacent to it, so that cranes can remove spent fuel from the reactor and deposit it in a swimming-pool-like concrete structure near the top of the reactor vessel, inside each reactor building. If the hydrogen explosions damaged those pools – or systems needed to keep them cool – they could become a big problem. Keeping spent-fuel pools cool is critical and could potentially be an even more severe problem than a reactor meltdown, some experts say. If water drains out, the spent fuel could produce a fire that would release vast amounts of radioactivity, nuclear experts and anti-nuclear activists warn. “There should be much more attention paid to the spent-fuel pools,” says Arjun Makhijani, a nuclear engineer and president of the anti-nuclear power Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. “If there’s a complete loss of containment [and thus the water inside], it can catch fire. There’s a huge amount of radioactivity inside – far more than is inside the reactors. The damaged reactors are less likely to spread the same vast amounts of radiation that Chernobyl did, but a spent-fuel pool fire could very well produce damage similar to or even greater than Chernobyl.” But another scientist said while the spent-fuel pools have capacity for high volumes of radioactive material, the amount of fuel currently in the spent-fuel pool might be less than widely believed, based on data he has seen showing only about as much spent fuel in the vulnerable pool as contained in the reactor. “The inventory numbers I’ve seen for the spent-fuel pool [that was losing coolant] is well below capacity,” said Edwin Lyman, a physicist with UCS, which describes itself as neither pro- nor anti-nuclear power, but which says nuclear safeguards today are not adequate. “That could limit the damage.”
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is forecasting a magnitude 8.0 aftershock, which could completely destroy the damaged reactors at the Fukushima facility: 
(Aerial view after Fukushima numbers 1 and 3 exploded; click for larger image.)
And the limited radiation readings which are available are rather worrisome. The Jet Stream The jet stream passes right over Japan on its way to the West coast of the United States. The former editor of the Japan Times – Yoichi Shimatsu – states that after a high-level government meeting, “Japanese agencies are no longer releasing independent reports without prior approval from the top,” and that censorship of what is really occurring at the plant is being overseen under the Article 15 Emergency Law. As I noted Saturday: The jet stream passes right over Japan. The jet stream was noticed in the 1920′s by a Japanese meteorologist near Mount Fuji, and the Japanese launched balloon bombs into the jetstream to attack America during WWII.
If a meltdown caused radioactivity to be thrown high enough, or if the radioactivity got blown by surface winds up into the jet stream, it could spread widely. Here’s how the jet stream looks today: 
Here is an artist’s impression of how the jet stream could spread radiation in the future: 
And here’s a forecast for the next couple of days. Accuweather notes the following times for radiation – in a worst-case scenario – to reach the West Coast: Calculated time for radioactive particles to cross the Pacific from the power plants in Japan to big West Coast cities if the particles take a direct path and move at a speed of 20 mph:
| Cities |
Est. Distance (miles) |
Est. Time to Cross Pacific (days) |
| Anchorage |
3,457 |
7 |
| Honolulu |
3,847 |
8 |
| Seattle |
4,792 |
10 |
| Los Angeles |
5,477 |
11 |
But Accuweather meterologists argue that the winds will likely shift in different directions on a frequent basis, making it less likely that the radiation would be blown all of the way to the U.S. As Haarertz notes: Hebrew University Professor Menachem Luria, an expert on air quality and poisoning, told Channel 2 on Saturday …. “Once there is an uncontrollable heating up, the nuclear fuel undergoes a metamorphosis into the gaseous phase. Since we are talking about metals and solid items, they turn into particles that are capable of traveling great distances. They can wander thousands of kilometers.” If these gases are indeed emitted into the atmosphere in large quantities, the wind regime could carry them all the way to China, South Korea, and eastern Russia, or in the other direction, toward Hawaii and the west coast of the United States. The likelihood of this happening, though, is not high.
As CNN Meterologist Ivan Cabrera says: If radioactive material gets into the jet stream then… we share that with the world.
However, Cabrera points out that the Jet Stream is at 30,000-50,000 feet in altitude. 30,000 feet is 5.7 miles up. So that’s a long way up above the Japanese nuclear reactors, which are essentially at sea level. Unless the radiation from the Japanese nuclear power plants is carried aloft that high, it will probably not make it into the jet stream.So far, there is no indication of any kind that radiation has been carried into the jet stream. However, a U.S. aircraft carrier around 100 miles from the nuclear power plants have been exposed to radiation. 100 miles is obviously greater than 5.7 miles, but that is horizontal distance, and does not necessarily mean that radiation has risen high into the air. Obviously, if the wind is blowing off-shore at ground level, then that will move the radiation more or less horizontally. That is very different from blowing the radiation upwards. As all of the experts agree, if a truly huge meltdown occurs, then the odds of radiation reaching the jet stream increase dramatically. As national security expert Joe Cirincione told Fox News’ Chris Wallace: The worst case scenario is that the fuel rods fuse together, the temperatures get so hot that they melt together in a radioactive molten mass that bursts through the containment mechanisms and is exposed to the outside. So they spew radioactivity in the ground, into the air, into the water. Some of the radioactivity could carry in the atmosphere to the West Coast of the United States.
But a more difficult question is whether low-level radioactive release spread over many weeks or months could spread into the jet stream and then the Western United States. As the New York Times notes: Experts in Japan and the United States say the country is now facing a cascade of accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.
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