You can never find the truth by presenting only one side of any issue.
You find the truth by presenting all sides of an issue
and having a discussion about it.
You can never find the truth by presenting only one side of any issue.
You find the truth by presenting all sides of an issue
and having a discussion about it.
Many of the articles I have posted on here have 2 sides in them but it is obvious this ongoing crisis is being buried and lied about by MSM and I for one am not going to allow it to go unanswered. This is a health issue that has and will affect millions and I for one am not going to bury my head in the sand or roll with the current propaganda spew from MSM...common sense should be on full alert for all of at this time IMO. 300 to 400 tons of radiation spewing daily into the ocean is nothing to ignore. Yeah my side of the issue is all for for alerting people to wake up, research and protect themselves and their families and the side you are promoting appears to be the exact opposite. You obviously stand with MSM and they have their side of the issue out there covering up truth as they go....it is the side to protect the people that I stand on and there VERY LITTLE of that out there being reported.
FROM THE MSM:
- Team to test west coast kelp for radiation from fukushima
http://www.alipac.us/image/png;base6...BJRU5ErkJggg==m.utsandiego.com/.../tp-team-to-test-west-coast...
U‑T San Diego
by Gary Robbins - in 96 Google+ circles
1 day ago - Matt Edwards will soon dip a hand into the cool blue waters off Point Loma and grab strands of golden-brown kelp that might have a worrisome ...
- Kelp Off California Coast to Be Tested for Fukushima Radiation ...
www.nbclosangeles.com › news › local
KNBC
15 hours ago - Researchers are gathering kelp from along the West Coast to analyze it for traces of radioactive material that leaked into the Pacific Ocean from ...- Kelp off San Diego coast to be tested for Fukushima radiation
www.10news.com/.../kelp-off-san-diego-coast-to-be-tested-for-fu...
KGTV
14 hours ago - Kelp off San Diego coast to be tested forFukushima radiation. Kelp Project teams up with SDSU biologist... Researchers are now collecting samples of kelp off the West Coast to test its radiation levels to see if it is true.Missing: team
- Fukushima radiation: Scientists to test California Fish : The ...
www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/headline_news/2014/.../7705.html
3 days ago - A research team led by UCLA ecologist Peggy Fong will take 15-pound ... Found up and down the coast, this canopy-forming kelp acts like a sponge and ... this year by scientists to monitor radiation levels on the West Coast.- West Coast kelp to be tested for Fukushima radiation | Health ...
www.kcby.com/.../West-Coast-kelp-to-be-tested-for-Fukushima-radiatio...
14 hours ago - Researchers are gathering kelp from along theWest Coast to analyze it for traces of radioactive material that leaked into the Pacific Ocean from ...Missing: team
- News for team to test west coast kelp for radiation ...
- Scientists to Test Malibu Kelp for Radiation
Malibu Times - 5 days ago
In California, kelp is at once admired for its underwater beauty, grumbled ... to the March 2011 Japanese tsunami and resultingFukushima radiation leaks. ... next month to test local kelp as part of a West Coast-wide effort to determine the ... A researchteam led by UCLA ecologist Peggy Fong will take 15-lb.- Kelp to be tested for Fukushima radiation - Worldnews.com
article.wn.com/view/2014/.../Kelp_to_be_tested_for_Fukushima_radiatio...
20 hours ago - TEAM TO TEST WEST COAST KELP FOR RADIATION FROM FUKUSHIMA ... FUKUSHIMA 2012 radiation buying Kelp Iodine + 150 Potassium ...- Scientists to test Malibu kelp for Fukushima radiation | Citizens for ...
www.legitgov.org/Scientists-test-Malibu-kelp-Fukushima-radiation
5 days ago - Scientists to test Malibu kelp for Fukushima radiation --More than 20 labs and ... next month to test local kelpas part of a West Coast-wide effort to determine the ... A researchteam will take 15-pound samples at locations off ...- Kelp off California coast to be tested for Fukushima radiation News ...
www.news.nom.co/kelp-off-california-coast-to-be-tested-7933429-news/
9 hours ago - Researchers are gathering kelp from along the West Coast to analyze it for traces of radioactive material that leaked into the Pacific Ocean, ...
The only reason MSM is reporting ANYTHING on it now is because of people ranting and raving about it and doing their own testing and video taping it, so MSM could no longer ignore it....and now along with sheeple help they will try to minimize and cover it up.....no surprise there.
TV: Scientists have found nuclear waste off San Diego coast — Fukushima’s problems now being felt in our local ecosystem — Professor most worried about finding ‘pools’ of cesium — “Time will tell how this plays out” (VIDEO)
ABC San Diego, Feb. 3, 2014 –Steve Atkinson, 10 News: There continues to be serious concerns about whether radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster has reached our shores.
Published: February 4th, 2014 at 5:02 am ET
By ENENews
Fox 5 San Diego, Feb. 3, 2014 (Emphasis Added):
http://enenews.com/wp-content/upload...ctive_Kelp.jpg
Watch the Fox 5 broadcast here
http://enenews.com/fox-san-diego-fuk...ld-time-will-t
Report: Fukushima nuclear waste will merge with radiation from U.S. reactors when washing up on West Coast — “Startling amounts” released from operating plants — Diablo Canyon officials admit to recently discharging more tritium than Fukushima (VIDEO)
Bloomberg News, Feb. 3, 2014: Fukushima-US radiation runoff will merge on West Coast — The runoff from the Japanese plant will mingle with radiation released by other atomic stations such as Diablo Canyon in California. Under normal operations, Diablo Canyon discharges more radiation into the sea, albeit of a less dangerous isotope, than the Fukushima station [...] [There's] startling amounts that are released into the environment by the 435 nuclear power plants operating worldwide [...] Diablo Canyon plant in San Luis Obispo discharged 323 million liters of water into the Pacific in 2012, or about 870 tons a day, according to data from [its operator PG&E] [...] That water contained 3,670 curies of tritium, or 136 trillion becquerels, according to the company, almost three-and-a-half times the amount released from the Fukushima plant into the ocean in the period starting May 2011. The plant also discharged cesium-137 and strontium-90 [...]
Published: February 4th, 2014 at 10:00 am ET
By ENENews
Colin Hill, associate professor of radiation oncology at USC, Feb. 3, 2014: [Tritium can] contaminate sea creatures that encounter the isotope in high levels.
PG&E spokesman Blair Jones, Feb. 3, 2014: Total liquid discharges from Diablo Canyon in 2012 were 0.0165 percent of what the NRC allows. “Tritium is produced when a reactor is operating [...] Fukushima is not operating so naturally the tritium levels are lower.”
Arjun Makhijani, President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Oct. 19, 2013 (at 26:15 in): [The releases are] not continuously monitored. In my opinion, the NRC is not looking very closely over the shoulder of the companies. For instance, tritium is released periodically, but I’m not sure when the measurements are made, and that’s not documented in the environmental reports. Are the water measurements made during the release? How are the averages reported? How are the totals calculated?
Dr. Donald Moiser, professor at The Scripps Research Institute (Department of Immunology) and member of Del Mar city council in California, Oct. 19, 2013 (at 27:15 in): The problem with the data is tritium releases are episodic, so they’ll have a release of tritium one day a month when they report that to the NRC they’ll say this is the amount of tritium we released over the year. You have 5 days of release but you divide that by 365 days it doesn’t look like so much tritium, but if you’re sitting right next to the plant on the day of release, it’s quite a bit. There’s some data from Europe that says the spikes are dangerous. There’s no data in the U.S. that you can interpret.
Watch the Symposium featuring Makhijani and Mosier here
http://enenews.com/report-fukushima-...comment-466578
Scientists Confirm Fukushima Radiation in California Kelp
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by Mikael Thalen
February 6th, 2014
Updated 02/06/2014 at 7:01 pm
Scientists analyzing kelp off the coast of San Diego confirmed the presence of cesium this week, a radioactive isotope directly linked to the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Part of the ongoing “Kelp Watch 2014″ project, government and academic institutions have begun receiving results from samples of Bull Kelp and Giant Kelp collected along the California coast. Despite attempts by the media to downplay the ongoing disaster, the discovery has only confirmed the continued build up of radiation in West Coast waters.
“We’re trying to figure out how much is there and how much is getting into the ecosystem,” said Dr. Matthew Edwards, a professor from San Diego State University. “Things are linked a little more closely than sometimes we’d like to think. Just because it is on the other side of the world doesn’t mean that it doesn’t effect us.”
The discovery coincides with statements made by researchers at the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems in Spain, who predicted the early 2014 arrival of Fukushima radiation along the North American West Coast.
Although scientists claim the levels of cesium are safe, the public’s distrust has only grown given the government’s continued denial of other issues related to radiation.
Currently, more than 70 U.S. sailors involved in the USS Ronald Reagan’s 2011 Fukushima rescue efforts have been stricken with ailments such as brain tumors, thyroid cancer and leukemia. Despite the clear connection to Fukushima, the federal government has continued to deny any link.
Following the recent discovery of radiation levels over 1,400% above normal on a California beach, thought to be from naturally occurring thorium in the sand, government officials rushed to call the levels completely safe. Independent experts quickly refuted the claim, even warning that children playing in the sand were at risk.
Given radiation’s ability to bio-accumulate in sea life, many fear that the massive animal die-off along the west coast is related to the continued consumption of radioactive isotopes. Sea stars and sardines have been especially effected, with other strange anomalies, such as the discovery of “never before seen” conjoined gray whale calves off the coast of Southern Mexico, sparking increased worry as well.
While the government attempts to reassure the public that there is absolutely no risk whatsoever, tens of millions of doses of Potassium Iodide have been quietly purchased by the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Pentagon.
With experts predicting a 40 plus year cleanup at Fukushima, the likelihood of increased cesium in the Pacific Ocean seems inevitable.
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http://www.storyleak.com/scientists-...fornia-kelp-2/
According to Andrey Dyomin, president of the Russian Association for Public Health, the same is to be expected in Japan."We cannot say that the problem would disappear in five years. The rise of morbidity will continue as the general gene pool has been damaged. Next generations will carry the burden of that catastrophe".
The peculiarities of the Japanese national cuisine focused on fish and seafood are one of the risk factors. Of course, it is not necessarily true that all of the food will be poisoned by the radiation coming from the Fukushima spills, but the risk of getting radiation poisoning through food is rising. At the end of last year 40 km from the power plant a fish was caught, in which the level of dangerous elements exceeded the norm by a hundred times. Scientists assume that the poisoned water from the power plant was carried by the sea streams to California. How else would one explain that every blue tuna fish caught near the coast of the state has signs of radioactive poisoning, while brown kelp containing the radioactive iodine level that exceeds the norm by 200 times has been detected on the shore? According to the Bloomberg web site, this year a "squad" of radioactive jellyfish is to be expected at the US West Coast. Californians are worried. It is unclear how the situation will develop in the future, says Prof. Alexey Yablokov, an advisor at the Russian Academy of Sciences and ecologist.
http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_02_06/...-to-rise-5545/
Fukushima radiation levels underestimated by five times - TEPCO
Published time: February 08, 2014 07:03
http://cdn.rt.com/files/news/22/36/f0/00/1.si.jpg AFP Photo / IAEA
TEPCO has revised the readings on the radioactivity levels at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant well to 5 million becquerels of strontium per liter – both a record, and nearly five times higher than the original reading of 900,000 becquerels per liter.
Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission with a half-life of 28.8 years. The legal standard for strontium emissions is 30 becquerels per liter. Exposure to strontium-90 can cause bone cancer, cancer of nearby tissues, and leukemia.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. originally said that the said 900,000 becquerels of beta-ray sources per liter, including strontium - were measured in the water sampled on July 5 last year.
However, the company noted on Friday that the previous radioactivity levels had been wrong, meaning that it was also likely reading taken from the other wells at the disaster-struck plant prior to September were also likely to have been inaccurate, the Asahi Shimbum newspaper reported.
The Japanese company has already apologized for the failures, which they said were a result of the malfunctioning of measuring equipment.
TEPCO did not mention the radioactivity levels of other samples of both groundwater and seawater taken from between June and November last year – which totaled some 140.
However, the erroneous readings only pertain to the radiation levels measured in water – readings taken to measure the radiation levels in air or soil are likely to have been accurate.
In the basement of the station, the drainage system and special tanks have accumulated more than 360,000 tons of radioactive water. The leakage of radioactive water has been an ongoing problem in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant.
TEPCO also said on Thursday that 600 liters of contaminated water – which had 2,800 becquerels of beta-ray sources per liter in it, leaked from piping leading to a tank at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
A record high level of beta rays released from radioactive strontium-90 was detected at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant beneath the No. 2 reactor's well facing the ocean, according to the facility’s operator who released news of the measurements mid-January.
TEPCO measured the amount of beta ray-emitting radioactivity at more than 2.7 million becquerels per liter, Fukushima’s operator said as reported in the Japanese media.
In March 2011, an earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit Japan’s coast, damaging the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The catastrophe caused the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the facility, leading to the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
The water used to cool the reactors has been leaking into the soil and contaminating the ground water ever since. Some of the radioactive water has been escaping into the Pacific Ocean.
http://rt.com/news/fukushima-radiati...estimated-143/
Leaders on West Coast: Gov’t is “highly irresponsible… very negligent” for not testing in Pacific as Fukushima radiation arrives — Contamination of seafood is going to happen — “We don’t want to get cancer… We have a right to know if our fish is safe” — Gov’t: Testing ‘not required’
Coast Reporter, Feb. 6, 2014: [...] Radiation from the March 2011 nuclear accident arrived off the B.C. coast [in June of] last year, Robin Brown [at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans] said Tuesday. [...] a report by five DFO scientists concluded that [...] “the inventory of Fukushima radioactivity will almost entirely shift from the western to the eastern North Pacific during the next five years.” [...] [It featured one model that] suggested ocean contamination would exceed levels of maximum fallout from nuclear tests and previous accidents such as Chernobyl, while the other model said levels would equal the amount of contamination that existed in 1990. [...] the report cited “many reasons for study,” including human health and marine biota. Brown, one of the co-authors of the report, acknowledged that neither study factored in ongoing discharges from Fukushima after the March 2011 release.
Published: February 8th, 2014 at 10:26 am ET
By ENENews
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Message from Annita McPhee, Tahlton Central Council president, to national Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo: “We cannot sit by and watch and wait to see what the full impacts of the Fukushima disaster will be on our salmon and our way of life [...] To date, we have not seen or heard of Canada taking this issue seriously and working in a real way to address it.”
The Coast Reporter interviewed McPhee: “Some people are not eating their fish because they’re scared. Some people don’t want to feed it to their kids. We don’t want to get cancer. We already have lots of cancer up in our area. I mean, lots [...] The Tahltan people have been very concerned about what’s going on. We get our fish from the Stikine River, but it comes from the Pacific Ocean [...] As First Nations, we’ve got to come together and address this, force the government’s hand. We have a right to know if our fish is safe to eat.”
B.C. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip: “[The federal government’s inaction is] highly irresponsible. [...] I think it’s certainly a legitimate concern [...] Other jurisdictions — other countries — realize there is a very real potential for contamination. Unfortunately, Canada doesn’t seem to be taking any steps whatsoever to acknowledge this as a potential threat. [...] It’s not only unacceptable, but it’s very negligent of the government of Canada.”
Sliammon Chief Clint Williams: “Our people really cherish salmon, it’s always been part of our culture, so we absolutely encourage [testing and full disclosure]. We want to make sure our food is safe. And it’s not just salmon either – it’s clams, geoducks, sea urchins [...] I’m sure those concerns are shared all up and down the coast here.”
Former shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation chief Calvin Craigan: “If [contamination of natural foods from the sea is] going to happen in the long term, and it is, all First Nations have to get together and call for testing.”
Canadian Food Inspection Agency: “Based on our test results, as well as our ongoing assessment of information from a variety of expert resources, further testing of imported or domestic food products for the presence of radioactive material is not required”
http://enenews.com/leaders-on-west-c...-to-get-cancer
NBC News: Two Quakes Strike Fukushima — Kyodo: Quakes jolt Fukushima Prefecture
NBC News, Feb. 8, 2014: Two Quakes Strike Near Fukushima as US Sailors Sue Over Cleanup — Two magnitude-5 earthquakes hit Friday off the coast of Japan’s Fukushima prefecture [...] The quakes — which the U.S. Geological Survey measured at magnitudes 5 and 5.1 — caused no notable damage [...]http://enenews.com/wp-content/upload....15-300x88.jpg
Published: February 8th, 2014 at 3:03 am ET
By ENENews
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Kyodo News, Feb. 8, 2014: M5.0, M4.8 quakes jolt Fukushima Pref. — A couple of earthquakes with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 and 4.8 shook Fukushima Prefecture Saturday morning [...] [one] registered intensity 4 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 in Soma and Shinchi in the prefecture. [...] Later in the morning, another quake with the same intensity jolted Kawauchi in the prefecture at 11:34 a.m., the agency said. [The quakes] also shook surrounding areas of Fukushima, such as Miyagi, Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures.
View USGS data and map for the M5.1 and M5.0 quakes here
http://enenews.com/nbc-news-two-quak...ima-prefecture
‘Extensive’ plume of Fukushima radiation almost due north of Honolulu in May 2013; Cesium of 8 Bq/m³ found — Japan Musicians: Very important for Hawaii to do tests; “The world should know what’s going on in the Pacific” (VIDEO)
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Published: February 8th, 2014 at 4:10 pm ET
By ENENews
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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (CMER):
Date: May 14, 2013; Location: 30.0, -160.59 (600 miles north of Honolulu, HI)
- Depth: 45.75 [meters?]
Cs137: 4.6 ± 0.1Bq/m³; Cs134: 2.7 ± 0.2Bq/m³- Depth: 165 [meters?]
Cs137: 4.9 ± 0.1 Bq/m³; Cs134: 3.1 ± 0.2 Bq/m³- No surface measurement published
Buesseler, et al., March 2013: 134Cs and 137Cs levels between Japan and the Hawaiian Islands [...] The persistence of similar 134Cs activities in the same area detected 12 months apart may be an indication [...] releases from F1-NPP into the ocean continued over a longer period of time creating an extensive plume of http://enenews.com/wp-content/upload...I_MAP_2012.jpgradiation that continued moving through the study site for over 15 months.
Hawaii Public Television Channel 54 ‘Big Island Video News’, Feb. 6, 2014: The Japanese Folk music of Yumi Kikuchi and Gen Morita was one of the highlights of the 21st annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Festival. [...]
Yumi Kikuchi, musician: [...] After we moved here we started ‘Fukushima Kids Hawaii’ http://enenews.com/wp-content/upload...05-300x213.jpginviting children from Fukushima to Hawaii so that they can get a wonderful time here to be able to play outside. [...] There’s a bill in this legislation in Hawaii congress to monitor the radiation in the food and water and soil. It is very important so that our community and the children can stay healthy. We should know the accurate information everybody in the world should know what’s going on in the Pacific, and also to the rest of the world. Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific and it’s very important for us to know the accurate information […] I want all the ‘keiki’ [Hawaiian for kids] to be healthy and happy. That’s why I’m playing today.
Watch Kikuchi speak during a recent performance here
http://enenews.com/extensive-plume-o...rt-data-we-wan
TV: Hawaii Senators introduce bill to require Fukushima radiation monitoring for at least next 5 years — Nuclear engineer concerned, wants to ensure people are safe — Official: “The fact we can detect it throws fear into individuals” (VIDEO)
KITV, Feb. 7, 2014 (Emphasis Added):
Published: February 8th, 2014 at 12:15 pm ET
By ENENews
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KITV: Hawaii lawmakers say they are still hearing from residents who fear some of the radiation will end up here in the islands.25 written testimonies were submitted — 25 support bill, ZERO are opposed. Read the testimonies here (pdf)
Adrian Chang, retired nuclear engineer: I just want to make sure what we consume is going to be safe.
Catherine Cruz, reporter: Adrian Chang is a retired pearl harbor nuclear engineer. He turned out to support a bill calling for radiation testing and voiced his concerns before members of a joint health and environment committee. [...] testing happens quarterly on Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island.http://enenews.com/wp-content/upload...28-300x212.jpg
Jeff Eckard, Indoor and Radiological Health Branch, Department of Health: We have equipment that is so sensitive so we can detect it as miniscule levels that is far, far below any public health concern. But the fact we can detect it throws fear into individuals [...]
Cruz: The state is also regularly testing our air, rain, milk and drinking water. And says levels of any radiation found in fish have been extremely low. [...]
Senator Josh Green: I had a difficult time finding it and the latest update was seven or eight months ago. [...]
Eckard: We are still at normal background radiation levels. We are considering posting the results because of the requests we have been getting from the public. [...]
Cruz: A similar bill introduced in the house was also heard today. The senate committee is to take a vote next week.
http://enenews.com/tv-hawaii-senator...ividuals-video
Fukushima Cesium-137 and West Coast Fishery: B.C. First Nations call for Radiation Tests
By John Gleeson
Global Research, February 08, 2014
coastreporter.net
Region: Canada
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B.C.’s grand chief and First Nation leaders on the Sunshine Coast are supporting a call for Ottawa to “systematically and properly” study the full impact of Fukushima radiation on the West Coast fishery.
Radiation from the March 2011 nuclear accident arrived off the B.C. coast last year, Robin Brown, ocean sciences division manager with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), said Tuesday.
-
http://www.coastreporter.net/apps/pb...ef=AR&maxw=288
This Department of Fisheries and Oceans map shows the surface water distribution of cesium-137 from Fukushima in 2012, when the main inventory of radioactivity had moved toward the central North Pacific. The plume is expected to shift almost entirely to North America’s west coast during the next five years. Fukushima radiation was detected in B.C. coastal waters in June 2013.
“According to our observations, the radiation from Fukushima was detected in B.C. coastal waters in June 2013. Barely detectable, but detectable,” Brown said.
Although the federal government tested food samples, including some domestic fish species, in 2011 and early 2012, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Wednesday that “further testing of imported or domestic food products for the presence of radioactive material is not required.”
Last month, Tahlton Central Council president Annita McPhee wrote national Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, urging him to press Ottawa for action amid growing concerns by members of the Tahltan Nation in northwestern B.C.
“We cannot sit by and watch and wait to see what the full impacts of the Fukushima disaster will be on our salmon and our way of life,” McPhee wrote. “To date, we have not seen or heard of Canada taking this issue seriously and working in a real way to address it.”
The letter called on Atleo to “raise this issue at the highest levels of the federal government, and demand action.”
In an interview, McPhee said news reports about Fukushima have bred fear in her community.
“Some people are not eating their fish because they’re scared. Some people don’t want to feed it to their kids. We don’t want to get cancer. We already have lots of cancer up in our area. I mean, lots,” McPhee said.
“The Tahltan people have been very concerned about what’s going on. We get our fish from the Stikine River, but it comes from the Pacific Ocean,” she said. “As First Nations, we’ve got to come together and address this, force the government’s hand. We have a right to know if our fish is safe to eat.”
B.C. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip echoed that view, calling the federal government’s inaction “highly irresponsible.
“I think it’s certainly a legitimate concern,” Phillip said Monday. “Other jurisdictions — other countries — realize there is a very real potential for contamination. Unfortunately, Canada doesn’t seem to be taking any steps whatsoever to acknowledge this as a potential threat.”
Instead, Phillip noted, DFO has been downsized, representing “a significant disinvestment” in the West Coast fishery.
“It’s not only unacceptable, but it’s very negligent of the government of Canada,” he said.
On the Upper Sunshine Coast, Sliammon Chief Clint Williams said he fully backs McPhee’s call for testing and full disclosure.
“Our people really cherish salmon, it’s always been part of our culture, so we absolutely encourage that. We want to make sure our food is safe. And it’s not just salmon either – it’s clams, geoducks, sea urchins,” Williams said. “I’m sure those concerns are shared all up and down the coast here.”
Former shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation chief Calvin Craigan concurred, saying that any contamination of natural foods from the sea will affect coastal Native communities.
“If that’s going to happen in the long term, and it is, all First Nations have to get together and call for testing,” Craigan said.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/west-co...-tests/5367895
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Radioactive Water Fukushima Daiichi’s Hidden Crises
from Fukushima Radiation Update PRO 1 week ago All Audiences
Radioactive Water Fukushima Daiichi’s Hidden Crises
NHK World News Documentary Fukushima Daiichi Crisis
In-depth look at the struggles of the brave men trying to stop the huge amounts of highly radioactive water flowing into the pacific ocean. They think the melted core is still in unit-1.
As one of the engineers says we don't know how we can stop the flow of contaminated water.
This documentary explores the men working in unit-1 reactor, exposing themselves to high doses of deadly radiation. When ask about units 2 & 3 they say we have no idea what’s going on in them because the radiation levels our so high they can’t go in them.
Speculation is the cores in units-2 & 3 have burned through the containment vessels and burned its way deep into the earth, If this theory is right there’s no chance to recover the molten corium.
After watching this documentary it's clear that this is a Global Crisis of Unparalleled Magnitude.
Video here:
http://vimeo.com/85595428
You welcome Kathyet! :)
US Sailors Sick From Fukushima Radiation File New Suit Against Tokyo Electric Power
US Sailors Sick From Fukushima Radiation File New Suit Against Tokyo Electric PowerCiting a wide range of ailments from leukemia to blindness to birth defects, 79 American veterans of 2011’s earthquake/tsunami relief Operation Tomadachi (“Friendship”) have filed a new $1 billion class action lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power.
Now docked in San Diego, the USS Reagan’s on-going safety has become a political hot potato. The $4.3 billion carrier is at the core of the U.S. Naval presence in the Pacific. Critics say it’s too radioactive to operate or to scrap, and that it should be sunk.
The suit includes an infant born with a genetic condition to a sailor who served on the USS Ronald Reagan as radiation poured over it during the Fukushima melt-downs, and an American teenager living near the stricken site. It has also been left open for “up to 70,000 U.S. citizens [who were] potentially affected by the radiation and will be able to join the class action suit.”
Now docked in San Diego, the USS Reagan’s on-going safety has become a political hot potato. The $4.3 billion carrier is at the core of the U.S. Naval presence in the Pacific. Critics say it’s too radioactive to operate or to scrap, and that it should be sunk, as were a number of U.S. ships contaminated by atmospheric Bomb tests in the South Pacific.
The re-filing comes as Tepco admits that it has underestimated certain radiation readings by a factor of five. And as eight more thyroid cancers have surfaced among children in the downwind region.Two new earthquakes have also struck near the Fukushima site.
The amended action was filed in federal court in San Diego on Feb. 6, which would have been Reagan’s 103rd birthday. It says Tepco failed to disclose that the $4.3 billion nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was being heavily dosed from three melt-downs and four explosions at the Fukushima site. The Reagan was as close as a mile offshore as the stricken reactors poured deadly clouds of radiation into the air and ocean beginning the day after the earthquake and tsunami. It also sailed through nuclear plumes for more than five hours while about 100 miles offshore. The USS Reagan (CVN-76) is 1,092 feet long and was commissioned on July 12, 2003. The flight deck covers 4.5 acres, carries 5,500 sailors and more than 80 aircraft.
Reagan crew members reported that in the middle of a snowstorm, a cloud of warm air enveloped them with a “metallic taste.” The reports parallel those from airmen who dropped the Bomb on Hiroshima, and from central Pennsylvanians downwind from Three Mile Island. Crew members drank and bathed in desalinated sea water that was heavily irradiated from Fukushima’s fallout.
As a group, the sailors comprise an especially young, healthy cross-section of people. Some also served on the amphibious assault ship Essex, missile cruiser Cowpens and several others.
The plaintiffs’ ailments parallel those of downwinders irradiated at Hiroshima/Nagasaki (1945), during atmospheric Bomb tests (1946-1963), and from the radiation releases at Three Mile Island (1979) and Chernobyl (1986). Among them are reproductive problems and “illnesses such as Leukemia, ulcers, gall bladder removals, brain cancer, testicular cancer, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, thyroid illnesses, stomach ailments and a host of other complaints unusual in such young adults.”
One 22-year-old sailor declared to the court that “Upon my return from Operation Tomodachi, I began losing my eyesight. I lost all vision in my left eye and most vision in my right eye. I am unable to read street signs and am no longer able to drive. Prior to Operation Tomodachi, I had 2/20 eyesight, wore no glasses and had no corrective surgery.” Additionally, he said, “I know of no family members who have had leukemia.”
Plaintiff “Baby A.G.” was born to a Reagan crew member on Oct. 15, 2011—seven months after the crew members exposure—with multiple birth defects.
The suit asks for at least $1 billion to “advance and pay all costs and expenses for each of the Plaintiffs for medical examination, medical monitoring and treatment by physicians,” as well as for more general damages.
Both Tepco and the Navy say not enough radiation was released from Fukushima to harm the sailors or their offspring. But neither can say exactly how much radiation that might have been or where it went. The Navy has discontinued a program that might have tracked the sailors’ health in the wake of their irradiation.
After its four days offshore from Fukushima the governments of Japan, South Korea and Guam refused the Reagan port entry because of its high radiation levels. The Navy has since exposed numerous sailors in a major decontamination effort whose results are unclear.
Now docked in San Diego, the Reagan’s on-going safety has become a political hot potato. The $6 billion carrier is at the core of the U.S. Naval presence in the Pacific. Critics say it’s too radioactive to operate or to scrap, and that it should be sunk, as were a number of U.S. ships contaminated by atmospheric Bomb tests in the South Pacific. There are also rumors the Navy is considering deploying the Reagan to a port in Japan, where protests would be almost certain.
Filed on Dec. 12, 2012, the initial suit involved just eight plaintiffs. It was amended to bring the total to 51.
That action was thrown out at the end of 2013 by federal Judge Janis S. Sammartino on jurisdictional grounds.
A January deadline for re-filing this second amended complaint was delayed as additional plaintiffs kept coming forward. Attorneys Paul Garner and Charles Bonner say still more are being processed.
The suit charges Tepco lied to the public—including Japan’s then Prime Minister Naoto Kan—about the accident’s radioactive impacts. Kan says Unit One melted within five hours of the earthquake, before U.S. fleet arrived. Such news is unwelcome to an industry with scores more reactors in earthquake zones worldwide.
The Plaintiffs say Tepco negligently leveled a natural seawall to cut water pumping expenses. The ensuing tsunami then poured over the site’s unprotected power supply, forcing desperate workers to scavenge car batteries from a nearby parking lot to fire up critical gauges. Tepco belatedly dispatched 11 power supply trucks that were immediately stuck in traffic.
Similar reports of fatal cost-cutting, mismanagement and the use and abuse of untrained personnel run throughout the 65-page complaint.
Attorney Bonner will explain much of it on the Solartopia Radio show at 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Some 4,000 supporters have signed petitions at nukefree.org, moveon.org, Avaaz and elsewhere.
Feb. 11—like the eleventh day of every month—will be a worldwide fast day for those supporting the victims of Fukushima’s deepening disaster.
The future of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the nuclear power industry and a growing group young sailors tragically afflicted by Fukushima’s secret fallout will be hanging in the balance.
http://www.sotrueradio.org/index.php...ssages-daily-2
First Nations call for radiation tests
Effects on marine life from Fukushima fallout a concern
John Gleeson And Jeremy Shepherd / North Shore News
February 14, 2014 12:00 AM
B.C.'s grand chief and First Nation leaders on the Sunshine Coast are supporting a call for Ottawa to "systematically and properly" study the full impact of Fukushima radiation on the West Coast fishery.
Radiation from the March 2011 nuclear accident arrived off the B.C. coast last year, Robin Brown, ocean sciences division manager with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said Feb. 4. "According to our observations, the radiation from Fukushima was detected in B.C. coastal waters in June 2013. Barely detectable, but detectable," Brown said.
Although the federal government tested food samples, including some domestic fish species, in 2011 and early 2012, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said last week (Feb. 5) that "further testing of imported or domestic food products for the presence of radioactive material is not required."
Last month, Tahlton Central Council president Annita McPhee wrote national Chief Shawn Ain-chut Atleo, urging him to press Ottawa for action amid growing concerns by members of the Tahltan Nation in northwestern B.C. "We cannot sit by and watch and wait to see what the full impacts of the Fukushima disaster will be on our salmon and our way of life," McPhee wrote. "To date, we have not seen or heard of Canada taking this issue seriously and working in a real way to address it."
The letter called on Atleo to "raise this issue at the highest levels of the federal government, and demand action."
In an interview, McPhee said news reports about Fukushima have bred fear in her community.
"Some people are not eating their fish because they're scared. Some people don't want to feed it to their kids. We don't want to get cancer. We already have lots of cancer up in our area. I mean, lots," McPhee said.
"The Tahltan people have been very concerned about what's going on. We get our fish from the Stikine River, but it comes from the Pacific Ocean," she said. "As First Nations, we've got to come together and address this, force the government's hand. We have a right to know if our fish is safe to eat."
B.C. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip echoed that view, calling the federal government's inaction "highly irresponsible.
"I think it's certainly a legitimate concern," Phillip said. "Other jurisdictions - other countries - realize there is a very real potential for contamination. Unfortunately, Canada doesn't seem to be taking any steps whatsoever to acknowledge this as a potential threat."
Instead, Phillip noted, DFO has been downsized, representing "a significant disinvestment" in the West Coast fishery.
"It's not only unacceptable, but it's very negligent of the government of Canada," he said.
For Tsleil-Waututh Nation member Rueben George, radiation concerns are just one more aggravating aspect in an increasingly threatened environment.
"I think overall it's been progressively worse and worse and worse, and that's just one of the destructive factors," he said.
Personally hesitant about eating fish from the region, George said questions about escalating cancer rates need to be addressed.
"Already there's so many questions that I think our society needs to know. At what level is it too dangerous?" he asked.
On the Upper Sunshine Coast, Sliammon Chief Clint Williams said he fully backs McPhee's call for testing and full disclosure.
"Our people really cherish salmon, it's always been part of our culture, so we absolutely encourage that. We want to make sure our food is safe. And it's not just salmon either - it's clams, geoducks, sea urchins," Williams said. "I'm sure those concerns are shared all up and down the coast here."
Former Shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation chief Calvin Craigan concurred, saying that any contamination of natural foods from the sea will affect coastal Native communities.
"If that's going to happen in the long term, and it is, all First Nations have to get together and call for testing," Craigan said.
http://www.nsnews.com/news/first-nat...tests-1.853745
US Navy sailors seek £600m damages from owners of Fukushima nuclear power plant
Nearly three years after the Fukushima disaster, more than 70 US Navy sailors who participated in rescue operations claim that radiation exposure has left them sickened for life
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Lt Steven Simmons, a 36-year-old administration officer, told The Telegraph that he had fallen ill within months of returning to the US in September 2011
By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo and Peter Foster in Washington
Dozens of American sailors who assisted Japan during the 2011 nuclear disaster are suing the operators of Fukushima power plant for more than £612 million (US$1bn) in damages, claiming that they have become sick from radiation exposure.
The sailors were on board the USS Ronald Reagan super-carrier when it was diverted to northeast Japan following the devastation of the March 11, 2011 earthquake which triggered a tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster.
As they helped rescue victims and evacuate disaster zones, the claimants allege that they drank, bathed and waded through water contaminated with radiation from the damaged nuclear power plant and were reportedly exposed to radioactive plumes.
A total of 79 named claimants - including sailors, support personnel and dependents - allege that over the past three years, they have suffered from serious health issues as a result of radiation exposure from the plant, ranging from an array of cancers such as leukemia to eye diseases and fertility problems.
The claimants include the two-year-old daughter of US sailor Kim Gieseking, 25, who was pregnant at the time of the Fukushima disaster and served as a boatswain’s mate on the flight deck.
The sailors, whose claim was submitted to San Diego District Court in California, are suing Tokyo Electric Power Plant (Tepco), operators of Fukushima nuclear power plant for negligence.
“These sailors were in radioactive plumes for more than five hours,” said Paul C Garner, a lawyer representing the sailors, who claims to have been contacted by more than 250 US navy personnel in relation to the case.
“They are suing Tepco for negligence in permitting escape of radiation from Fukushima nuclear power plant, strict liability, fraudulent concealment of true facts and a $1 billion medical fund plus compensation.”
Legal documents outlining their claims and submitted to the court stated: “Tepco was fully aware that the American responders would be exposed to hazardous levels of radiation, yet did not communicate this to the ships and to other responders.
“Tepco had a duty to inform any and all persons who were, or would soon be in the vicinity of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, of the radiological hazards created by the meltdowns which had occurred and were in progress.
Tepco breached this duty, negligently causing injuries, damages and harm to plaintiffs.”
The submitted claim is an amendment of an earlier legal action by a smaller group of US navy sailors involved in the Fukushima clean-up which was dismissed by a judge in San Diego in November last year on the grounds that court did not have jurisdiction.
The US government has vehemently denied that the sailors were exposed to levels of radiation that would negatively impact health during the Fukushima mission, and has published a full list of exposure details for each vessel involved.
“There is no indication that any U.S. Personnel supporting Operation Tomodachi experienced radiation exposure at levels associated with the occurrence of long-term health effects,” a US Navy spokesman told The Telegraph.
“All personnel were monitored, with very sensitive instruments. The worst case radiation exposure was less than 25 per cent of the annual radiation exposure that a member of the public gets from the sun, rocks or soil.”
However the affected sailors refuse to accept the Pentagon’s assurances and remain convinced that radiation exposure is to blame for a range of maladies, from cancers to over-active thyroid glands and prolonged menstrual bleeding.
Lt Steven Simmons, a 36-year-old administration officer, told The Telegraph that he had fallen ill within months of returning to the US in September 2011 from his deployment on the USS Reagan.
“I was perfectly healthy before that deployment. I was used to doing the P90-X extreme work out, I claimed the ’Stairway to Heaven’ in Hawaii but when I came back from the deployment my health started to decline.
“The Navy says they monitored everybody, but didn’t do internal or external monitoring of everyone, particularly not people below the flight deck,” he claimed, adding that at one point a message on the ship’s intercom said that ’contaminants’ had been sucked into the water system.
“There was an all-hands call on the intercom, but I was already up and had had breakfast and had drunk several glasses of water. I remember joking about it at the time. I never thought then I would get ill, even though some of my sailors were very worried and went to get checked out.”
Lt Simmons, who has three children, is now wheelchair bound despite doctors being unable to diagnose his condition despite carrying out a battery of tests for diseases including muscular dystrophy, Lou Gehrig’s disease and the tick-borne Lyme disease.
He is currently being treated and assessed by Navy doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland to decide whether to medically discharge him, although he admits that none have found any evidence of radiation-related illness.
“I’ve seen multiple doctors but they say that if it was radiation poisoning I would have been affected earlier; but you don’t have to be a nuclear engineer to know that radiation affects everyone in different ways.
“I don’t blame the Department of Defence or the Navy for what happened, but I believe that mistakes were made,” said the father of three.
“They [the Pentagon] have been sticking to this story for three years now, but we spent five hours sitting in a radioactive plume that came from the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. How can they really expect there was no harm to human life?” Japan’s embattled Tepco, which is currently facing a string of legal actions from Fukushima residents in relation to the alleged impact of the disaster on their homes and livelihoods, declined to comment on the details of the case.
However, the company said in a statement: “We are thankful to the United States for coming to the aid of the people of Japan, and appreciate the service of all the men and women of the United States military who provided our people with humanitarian and disaster relief in Operation Tomodachi.
“We withhold any comments on this lawsuit, and we will take appropriate measures in accordance with the judicial procedures in the United States.”
The case comes at a time of fevered speculation in North America in relation to the potential impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, despite repeated reassurances from governments and officials that there are no safety concerns.
There has been a flurry of media reports describing continued concerns in the region, such as Canadians stockpiling iodine tablets, local city governments passing resolutions for more testing of coastal seafood and a new study into the potential contamination of Californian kelp.
Scientists recently stated that seaborne radiation from the wrecked Fukushima power plant will wash up on the West Coast of the US at some point this year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...wer-plant.html
UK nuclear experts to help decommision Fukushima
Engineers from Sellafield to travel to Japan to advise on shutting down the stricken site
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...a_2650648b.jpg Government officials and nuclear experts inspecting a construction site at Fukushima in August Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
British nuclear experts are being lined up to help decommission the damaged Fukushima power plant in a move that could reboot Japan’s atomic power capabilities.
Lady Judge, the British-American nuclear expert and adviser at Fukushima, is organising for engineers from Sellafield in Cumbria to travel to Japan to advise on decontaminating and shutting down the stricken site.
“At Sellafield and Dounreay we are decommissioning big power plants and we can provide a very good example to the Japanese of how to do it safely,” said Lady Judge in an interview with The Telegraph. “I’ve been talking to Sellafield about sending some engineers to help.”
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which owns the Fukushima plants, is planning to launch a new subsidiary for decommissioning and decontamination on April 1. The division is expected to be headed by a Japanese nuclear expert who is expected to be advised by British engineers.
On Friday, Sellafield ordered all non-essential staff to stay at home after elevated readings of radiation were detected on site. Later officials at Sellafield – the site of Britain’s worst nuclear accident in 1957 – said naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from rocks and soil, had triggered the alarm.
will go between Japan and the UK,” said Lady Judge. “Helping the Japanese, will also help the Brits. We will benefit from working in Japan, the nuclear industry will benefit, and R&D will flourish in both countries.” The move would reverse the roles in the UK where Japanese companies, including Toshiba and Hitachi, are leading the plans, alongside France’s EDF Energy, to build the first nuclear power stations in Britain for decades. Three weeks ago Japan’s Toshiba agreed to buy a 60pc stake in NuGeneration, the UK nuclear venture that plans to build three new plants at the Moorside site in West Cumbria.
Lady Judge said that while Britain has lost most of its nuclear building expertise, the country still a world leader in decommissioning. Lady Judge was chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) from 2002 to 2010 which at the time was focused on decommissioning.
Almost 18 months ago, she was asked to join a new international oversight board being put together at the Tepco and appointed as deputy chairman of Tepco’s Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee, where she is in charge of safety.
The company is desperate to rebuild trust with the Japanese public which is still highly suspicious of nuclear power. The earthquake and tsunami that struck the Daiichi plant in March 2011 caused the worst nuclear accident since Chernoybl. Most of Japan’s nuclear power plants remain closed in the wake of the disaster, despite the crippling costs of importing oil and gas.
Last week, Japan reported a record trade deficit of 11.5 trillion yen, up 65pc from a year ago, due to soaring energy costs. The country, which recorded trade surpluses every year between 1980 and 2010, relied on its nuclear power plants for most of its supplies. High energy costs also helped Japanese consumer prices rise at their fastest pace for five years, according to data out on Friday.
Tepco, which has been heavily criticised for its handling of Fukushima, is hoping that Lady Judge and the rest of the committee can help safely shut down Fukushima and pave the way for Japan’s nuclear plants to restart.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...Fukushima.html
Study: Fukushima airborne plumes “caused significant deposition of radioactivity over North America” — Especially for West Coast and eastern U.S. — Around 13% of all radioactive iodine released into atmosphere was deposited over USA and Canada (MAP)
European Commission, Science for Environment Policy News Alert (pdf): The 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima, Japan, caused the release of large amounts of radionuclides (unstable atoms that produce radioactive emissions) to the atmosphere. Caesium and iodine radionuclides can negatively affect human health through the contamination of air, water, soil and agricultural products. The EU-funded study1 modelled the global spread of radionuclides of caesium and iodine from Fukushima in the atmosphere [...] or iodine radionuclides [...] meteorological conditions and convection promote more long-distance transport. This is because iodine does not dissolve as easily as caesium so it http://enenews.com/wp-content/upload...5x_US_map1.jpgremains in a gaseous form and is redistributed by convection to the troposphere (lowest part of atmosphere) where the wind speed is greater and transports the iodine greater distances. The model results suggest that 12.7% of iodine radionuclides were deposited over the USA and Canada [...] Approximately 50-60% was deposited locally in Japan.
Published: February 14th, 2014 at 1:03 pm ET
By ENENews
Modelling the global atmospheric transport and deposition of radionuclides from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident (pdf), 2013: [...] meteorological conditions associated with convection and vertical mixing over the Pacific Ocean promote its longdistance transport so that it contributes to radioactivity deposition worldwide. Our model results suggest that the plumes that traversed the Pacific Ocean caused significant deposition of radioactivity over continental North America, in particular western USA, western Canada and eastern USA (>100 Bqm−2). Our model results also show substantial deposition of radionuclides in regions southwest of Japan, e.g., around the Philippines1. Two weeks after the accident, all operational CTBTO stations in the northern hemisphere had reported at least one 131I detection.
http://enenews.com/study-fukushima-a...comment-472854
Radiation Expert: “North America has received quite a large fallout” — “Incredible increase in cancer, leukemia, genetic disease… Not just in Japan but in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly North America” (VIDEO)
Helen Caldicott Interview, The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann, Dec. 11, 2011:
Published: December 13th, 2011 at 5:01 am ET
By ENENews
NYT: Helen Caldicott, a pediatrician, is founding president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. A native of Australia, she left her Harvard Medical School post in 1980 to work full-time on anti-nuclear education.
Transcript Excerpts
At 2:39 in
May I say that North America has received quite a large fallout itself.At 3:15 in
We’re going to see an incredible increase in cancer, leukemia, and — down the time track — genetic disease. Not just in Japan but in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly North America.At 5:00 in
There have been three actual melt-throughs [...]After Fukushima – Enough Is Enough, New York Times By HELEN CALDICOTT, December 2, 2011:
There could be massive hydrogen explosions still or steam explosions [...]
Building 4 is very unstable and its got a very hot cooling pool on top of it. If there’s another earthquake that building could collapse and who knows how much radiation could escape
[...] Many thousands of people continue to inhabit areas that are highly contaminated, particularly northwest of Fukushima. Radioactive elements have been deposited throughout northern Japan, found in tap water in Tokyo and concentrated in tea, beef, rice and other food. In one of the few studies on human contamination in the months following the accident, over half of the more than 1,000 children whose thyroids were monitored in Fukushima City were found to be contaminated with iodine 131 — condemning many to thyroid cancer years from now.
Children are innately sensitive to the carcinogenic effects of radiation, fetuses even more so. Like Chernobyl, the accident at Fukushima is of global proportions. Unusual levels of radiation have been discovered in British Columbia, along the West Coast and East Coast of the United States and in Europe, and heavy contamination has been found in oceanic waters. [...]
http://enenews.com/radiation-expert-...misphere-video
https://scontent-b-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/...21696993_n.jpg
Americans and Canadians may have been eating radioactive fish filled with bloody, cancerous tumors as a result of fish being contaminated with huge amounts of radiation in the Pacific ocean from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
In March, 2011 an earthquake off the coast of Japan caused a Tsunami which hit the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, causing three reactors to melt down. Not only has that disaster site been spewing 400 tons of highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean every single day since the earthquake, the radiation has reached the US West Coast and the fish you’ve been eating from the Pacific ocean are full of it! The radiation in the fish is so terrible that wild-caught Alaskan Salmon and Canadian white fish are being found to have bloody, cancerous, tumors throughout their bodies.
The government and the nuclear power industry claim we have nothing to worry about.
http://mr-absentia.soup.io/
US Sailors’ Attorney: Fukushima has left an entire generation of young people crippled physically, mentally, and genetically — Nuclear radiation is threatening entire planet (AUDIO)
Published: February 13th, 2014 at 12:12 pm ET
By ENENews
Feb. 11, 2014 (at 39:00 in):Charles Bonner, attorney representing US sailors exposed to Fukushima radioactive releases during Operation Tomodachi: We intend to put the nuclear industry on trial here, because it is the misrepresentation from the nuclear industry that nuclear energy is safe that has allowed this particular incident to occur. There’s this false sense of security that these for-profit energy companies such as Tepco, created in the public. The public believes that these power plants are totally safe; in fact Tepco guaranteed the Japanese public that this particular power plant was safe. […] These nuclear power plantshttp://enenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/B_B.jpg threaten the world, the entire planet is threatened.Full interview available here
Bonner: [Radiation-contaminated water] undoubtedly is going to hit the northern coast of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska — probably by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. This kind of contamination threatens the entire planet and it has left an entire generation of young people now crippled, genetically as well as mentally, as well physically. As you well know radiation doesn’t just affect the person, it causes genetic mutations so it affects the offspring of an irradiated person. So the harm and damage here to the human beings is far reaching, let alone considering the damage to the environment which is ongoing. Tepco is still releasing 300 tons of radiation-contaminated water every day and it’s been going on every day, as it is stated in the lawsuit, since March 11, 2011 — since the earthquake happened. This is a very serious problem. So yes, this lawsuit indicts not only Tepco, but indicts the entire nuclear industry and it requires that citizens of the world demand that these power plants actually be shut down because it is impossible to make them completely safe.
Fukushima Cancer Rates Spike Despite Nuclear Industry Denial
Published on February 14, 2014
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Graham Bates/ Wake Up World
There’s been a spike of thyroid cancer cases in the Fukushima, like there was in Chernobyl after its nuclear disaster. And like Chernobyl, the nuclear industry is trying to deny the events are related.
On 11 March 2011, the world witnessed another Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) disaster, this time involving the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. An earthquake, followed by a tsunami, created the worst nuclear disaster on Earth.
The mainstream media has been relatively quiescent about the continuing Fukushima disaster. This is about to change.
Massive amounts of toxic radionuclides and water continue leaking from the reactors and the Spent Fuel Storage Pools (SFSP) into the Pacific Ocean. Scientific studies prove that radiation-induced insect mutations, high radiation levels in fish and alarmingly, rates of human cancers are increasing.
In the aftermath of the Fukushima NPP explosions, the extent of the massive damage is almost beyond belief.
Radioactive Isotopes Created by Fission
Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) operate when the neutron decay of Uranium-238 (238U) and Uranium-235 (235U) undergoes a fission reaction where atoms are split within the fuel rods contained inside the reactor.
Thus begins the fission chain reaction used to create energy ⇒ heat water to steam ⇒ drive turbines ⇒ create electricity ⇒ distribute to the electrical grid:
http://wakeup-world.com/wp-content/u...n-Reaction.png
A single neutron strikes the fissile atom (nucleus), splitting the 235U and 238U atoms into fragments and the fission reaction starts. The fuel type used in Units 1,2,4,5 and 6 at Fukushima was Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) that contains approx 3-4% 235U mixed in with 238U.
Read More HERE
Why the Obama Administration Will Not Admit that Fukushima Radiation is Poisoning Americans
Why isn’t GE being held accountable?
By Chris Carrington
Global Research, February 15, 2014
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We all know that the radiation from the stricken Fukushima plant has spread around the globe and is poisoning people worldwide. We all know that the West Coast of the United States is being polluted with radioactive debris and that the oceans, the beaches that border them, and even the air is becoming more polluted by radioactivity as time goes on.
You have to ask yourself why the government won’t admit this. It’s not like a disaster half a world away is their fault, is it?
Or is it? Could the United States government have done something to prevent the situation getting to this point?
Nothing in this article is a state secret, everything is in the public domain, but the information is so disseminated that it appears disconnected.
- the US government knows only too well that the West Coast is polluted with radiation and that the situation is getting worse by the day.
- the US government and General Electric knew that Fukushima was a disaster waiting to happen, and they did nothing to prevent it.
- they also know that the many nuclear reactors in the United States are also prone to catastrophic meltdown, and they are doing nothing about it.
- research by doctors and scientists is being suppressed, and research by private citizens is being written off purely because they have no scientific background.
All the warnings were ignored
The narrative that leads us to the state we are in today starts in 1972.
Stephen Hanauer, an official at the atomic Energy Commission recommended that General Electric’s Mark 1 design be discontinued as it presented unacceptable safety risks.
The New York Times reported:In 1972, Stephen H. Hanauer, then a safety official with the Atomic Energy Commission, recommended that the Mark 1 system be discontinued because it presented unacceptable safety risks. Among the concerns cited was the smaller containment design, which was more susceptible to explosion and rupture from a buildup in hydrogen — a situation that may have unfolded at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Later that same year, Joseph Hendrie, who would later become chairman of theNuclear Regulatory Commission, a successor agency to the atomic commission, said the idea of a ban on such systems was attractive. But the technology had been so widely accepted by the industry and regulatory officials, he said, that “reversal of this hallowed policy, particularly at this time, could well be the end of nuclear power.” (source)Then, three years later in 1975, Dale Bridenbaugh and two colleagues were asked to review the GE Mark 1 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). They were convinced that the reactor was inherently unsafe and so flawed in its design that it could catastrophically fail under certain circumstances. There were two main issues. First was the possible failure of the Mark 1 to deal with the huge pressures created if the unit lost cooling power. Secondly, the spent fuel ponds were situated 100 feet in the air near the top of the reactor.
They voiced their opinions, which were promptly pushed aside, and after realizing that they were not going to be allowed to make their opinions public all three resigned.
Over the years numerous other experts voiced concerns over the GE Mark 1 BWR. All have gone unheeded.
Five of the six reactors at Fukushima were GE Mark 1 BWR. The first reactor, unit one, was commissioned in 1971, prior to the first concerns about the design being raised. The other reactors came on line in 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1979 respectively. Although all six reactors were the GE Mark 1 design only three were built and supplied by GE. Units 1, 2 and 6 were supplied by GE, 3 and 5 by Toshiba and unit 4 by Hitachi. (Now Hitachi-GE)
Why isn’t GE being held accountable?
Why wouldn’t GE be held accountable? Here’s one possibility: Jeffery Immelt is the head of GE. He is also the head of the United States Economic Advisory Board. He was invited to join the board personally by President Obama in 2009 and took over as head in 2011 when Paul Volcker stepped down in February 2011, just a month before the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Fukushima.
Paul Volcker was often seen as being at odds with the administration, and many of his ideas were not embraced by the government. The appointment of Immelt, a self-described Republican, was seen as a move to give Obama a leg up when dealing with the Republican majority in the House.
There have been calls from many organizations for GE to be held accountable for the design faults in the reactors that powered the Fukushima plant. The fact that they had been known for so long does seem to indicate that the company ignored and over-ruled advice from nuclear experts.
GE ran Fukushima alongside TEPCO, but it isn’t liable for the clean-up costs.A year after the disaster, Tepco was taken over by the Japanese government because it couldn’t afford the costs to get the damaged reactors under control. By June of 2012, Tepco had received nearly 50 billion dollars from the government.The six reactors were designed by the U.S. company General Electric (GE). GE supplied the actual reactors for units one, two and six, while two Japanese companies Toshiba provided units three and five, and Hitachi unit four. These companies as well as other suppliers are exempted from liability or costs under Japanese law.Many of them, including GE, Toshiba and Hitachi, are actually making money on the disaster by being involved in the decontamination and decommissioning, according to a report by Greenpeace International.“The nuclear industry and governments have designed a nuclear liability system that protects the industry, and forces people to pick up the bill for its mistakes and disasters,” says the report, “Fukushima Fallout.”“If nuclear power is as safe as the industry always claims, then why do they insist on liability limits and exemptions?” asked Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a nuclear analyst with Greenpeace Canada.Nuclear plant owner/operators in many countries have liability caps on how much they would be forced to pay in case of an accident. In Canada, this liability cap is only 75 million dollars. In the United Kingdom, it is 220 million dollars. In the U.S., each reactor owner puts around 100 million dollars into a no-fault insurance pool. This pool is worth about 10 billion dollars.“Suppliers are indemnified even if they are negligent,” Stensil told IPS. (source)GE will not have put anything into this ‘pot’ to cover Fukushima, as it is not in the United States. They have walked away, even though they knew their reactors have design faults.
Wait! There’s more!
It’s not that simple, though; and here’s where keeping quiet and denying what’s happening comes into its own.
So far I have not explained why Obama is keeping quiet about the radiation contamination. Well, that’s the easy part.There are 23 nuclear plants in the United States that use the GE Mark 1 BWR.23.There are 23 nuclear plants in the United States where the used fuel rods are suspended, in a pond, 100 feet above the ground. (source)
Any admission that radiation has spread across the Pacific Ocean and contaminated American soil is an admission that the technology was flawed, and that same flawed technology is being used in the United States. The government does not want anyone looking closer at the situation. They don’t want people poking around asking questions about why the radiation got out in the first place…it’s too close to home.
Better to say that the radiation is within safe levels, and then if such a disaster happens here they can mourn those in the immediate fallout zone and maintain that the rest of the country is okay, just as it was after Fukushima.
The fact that the CEO of GE works for Obama just highlights the facts. There is no way that Immelt doesn’t know about all the warning his company was given about the design flaws of the Mark 1; and if he knows, the government knows.
Ask yourself this, why after such a monumental event are all the scientific papers regarding the disaster singing the same song?
It is impossible to have so many scientists and doctors agreeing to this level. Nothing has been published regarding the increased rates of miscarriage and childhood thyroid cancers. Why is that?
After Chernobyl there was a plethora of papers announcing to the world the increased cancer risks, the risks to pregnant women and young children. I suggest that because Chernobyl was in Russia, a place where no American technology was used, that there was no suppression of the facts.
GE cannot afford a corporate law suit, and neither can the Obama administration. It wouldn’t be pretty if a senior advisor to the president was hauled through the courts. There’s a chance it would not just be GE that went down in the wake of such a case.
The President of the United States knows that the radiation from Fukushima is worse than it would have been had the reactors used at the plant been of a different design.
Know to the US government, the delicate and hazardous task of removing and storing the spent fuel rods is going to take years, and that one mistake can exacerbate the problems ten-fold.
23 sites in America are using the same flawed reactors and the government is doing nothing about it.
The President of the United States is holding the lives of tens of millions of Americans in his hands and he refuses to even admit there is a problem. He needs to understand that the people of the West Coast are not just pawns in his political game. Moreover he should be explaining what is causing all the fish die-offs if it is unconnected to radiation.
Obama knows that millions of American citizens are being poisoned due, in part, to a failure of American technology. I recognize that the earthquake and tsunami were forces of nature, but the damage sustained could have been reduced considerably by not using the Mark 1.
I understand that these reactors were not installed on his watch, but he’s there now. He’s the one that can make the difference now. It is he who can look into the nuclear power stations on American soil in the hope of preventing a meltdown here.
Our nuclear power stations are old, past their sell by date in some cases. It’s not just the reactors that are the problem either. Hanford, right on the Columbia River in Washington state, as one example, constantly leaks radioactive liquid into the ground, and possibly the groundwater.
The situation at Fukushima is still far from stable, and it will be years before stability is even on the horizon.
Something has to be done before one of our aging power stations starts Fukushima Part ll.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/why-the...ricans/5365626
http://www.peakprosperity.com/sites/...l-80773552.jpg Yuliyan Velchev/Shutterstock
Fukushima's Legacy: Understanding the Difference Between Nuclear Radiation & Contamination
It's very important
by Chris Martenson
Tuesday, February 11, 2014, 9:55 AM
Are fish from the Pacific safe to eat? What about the elevated background radiation readings detected in Japan, and recently, in California? Are these harmful levels?
Should we be worried? And if so, what should be done about these potential health threats? What steps should we take to protect ourselves?
As many of you know, I'm a scientist by training. In this report, I'll lay out the facts and data that explain the actual risks. I'll start by pointing out that Fukushima-related fears have been overblown as well as heavily downplayed by parties on each side of the discussion.
Much of this stems from ignorance of the underlying science. But some of it, sadly, seems to be purposefully misleading. Again, on both sides.
To assess the true risks accurately, you need to know about the difference between radiation and contamination. The distinction is vital, and, unfortunately, one of the most glossed-over and misused facets of the reporting on nuclear energy.
Starting with the Bottom Line
All of my research and understanding of the risks of radiation at this point indicate that people living on the West Coast of the U.S. or in Hawaii are currently not in danger from the radiation released in the wake of the Fukushima tragedy.
While the background levels are elevated somewhat, those detected so far remain well within what I consider to be a safe zone. However, should there be another accident at the damaged facility leading to the release of another large plume of radioactive matter, then this assessment could, understandably, change.
The exception to this assessment is for those living within a hundred kilometers of Fukushima. For those people, my analysis points to serious risks, especially for those living with a kilometer or two of the coast, extending 100 kilometers in either direction. The details behind my assessment are contained in the full report below.
The intent of this report is to help readers understand the likely implications of the Fukushima situation with more clarity, as well as to provide a useful framework for identifying the risks posed by any future nuclear incidents and what your response to them should be.
The most important takeaway from this analysis should be this: Radiation, itself, is less a threat than most people imagine. But radioactive contamination is an entirely different and far more dangerous beast.
While both deliver a ‘dose’ of radiation, it's contamination – especially ingested contamination – that has the greatest odds of delivering a concentrated dose to human tissue in a way that can lead to serious acute and/or chronic damage.
The difference between these two will be explained in detail. For those who chose not to read the full report and just want the punchline, it's this: Contamination is the process of acquiring radioactive particles that then become lodged on, or more dangerously in, your body. Do all you can to protect yourself against it.
Should you find yourself nearby during a nuclear accident, your first order of business is to avoid breathing or ingesting any contaminated particulate matter. This usually involves sheltering in place and is when duct tape and plastic sheeting become your best friends. While it may sound silly to use such a dime-store defense against a nuclear hazard, it is in fact both remarkably effective and entirely necessary. Merely keeping you and your family away from the fallout for a matter of 2-3 days, possibly a bit longer depending on conditions, can make an enormous difference in your survival odds.
For now, the levels of radiation that have been detected and reported outside of Japan are between two and three orders of magnitude below what I would personally consider to be worrisome. And there’s no concrete evidence that the bigger concern, contamination, has traveled to countries outside of Japan.
And within Japan, the story takes on its own complexity (just as happened in the areas surrounding Chernobyl), where local wind patterns in the days after the accident created a complex quilt of danger and (relative) safety.
For those who wish to engage with the context and details of the post-Fukushima world, the journey begins by understanding what ‘radiation’ actually is.
Radiation Types
What do we mean when we say 'radiation'? As it turns out, that word can mean any number of things.
You are bathed in radiation every day: from sunlight, radio waves, wi-fi, etc. Some radiation is electromagnetic (in the case of light), and some is composed of particles (matter).
When we hear about ‘radiation’ in the press, what’s typically being referred to are potentially harmful forms of energetic emissions, both electromagnetic and particulate, that can damage biological organisms.
The main distinction between harmful and benign radiation lies in the ability of the radioactive wave or particle to ionize a molecule in your body. Technically, 'ionizing' means "to create an ion," which involves forcibly stripping an electron off a molecule or atom. This leaves the molecule or atom in a charged state (referred to as 'ionic form'), which thus can cause the affected particle to break apart or otherwise not work as it did before.
For example, the hemoglobin in your blood is a very complex molecule. Breaking even one of its internal bonds can completely destroy its ability to carry oxygen.
Every cell in your body is an enormously complex machine with thousands of different molecules each with a crucial function. Wreck enough of these molecules through the process of ionization and the cell dies. Destroy or disrupt the DNA at the center of the cell, and malfunction will result, one dramatic form being the loss of the ability to self-regulate its growth, which we call cancer.
Radioactive substances emit various forms of energy. Some of the energetic releases are in the form of photon waves (such as gamma or X-rays) while some are in the form of actual fast-moving particles (such as alpha and beta particles, and neutrons).
We lump them all together and call them ‘radiation’. But when it comes to their impact on living organisms, not all forms of radiation are created equally. Some are far more effective 'disrupters of life' than others.
The basic types of radiation you would encounter as a consequence of a nuclear accident like Fukushima are:
- Alpha particles. These are fast moving nuclei of helium, meaning that they consist of two protons and two neutrons. The electron shell is missing, so these are charged particles in search of electrons to strip from some other hapless molecule or atom. In the subatomic world, these are very large particles and so are the most easily stopped. They cannot penetrate even a single sheet of paper or the layer of dead skin cells on the outside of your body. As a result, they are quite easy to protect against with minimal effort. However, we shouldn't take total comfort in this fact. The deadly toxin polonium-210, the one used to kill various enemies of the Russians over the years, emits alpha particles and is quite effective as a poison. The reason for this lies in the fact that, once ingested, it works its damage in close proximity to a person's cells. On the outside of a body, alpha particles bump into already-dead skin cells, so no harmful damage results. On the inside, they careen straight into living cells and are quite damaging.
- Beta particles. These are electrons that have been ejected through a radioactive decay process (technically, it's when a neutron decays, yielding both a proton and an electron). Beta radiation can penetrate a sheet of paper easily, and it requires something along the lines of an aluminum plate a few millimeters thick to stop it. Beta particles have medium ionizing power and medium penetrating power, but there is a very wide spectrum of potential power intensities, depending on exactly which radioactive substance is emitting the beta particle. One very common radioactive substance found in nuclear plants, tritium, is a beta emitter.
- Gamma rays. These are high-energy photons with strong penetrating power and high ionizing potential. In the past, they were distinguished from x-rays on the basis of their energy potential, but they are really the same thing (they are both high-energy photons). Although, what we call an x-ray generally carries a lot less energy than a gamma ray. That is, an x-ray is at the low end of the energetic spectrum, while a gamma ray is at the higher end. This is exactly analogous to the difference between visible sunlight and UV rays, which are the radiation (composed of high-energy photons) that burns your skin. Just place gamma rays a lot further along that same spectrum all the way at the point where, instead of being stopped by your underlay of skin, the gamma rays can create an equivalent ‘sunburn’ on tissues all the way through your body. Gamma rays vary in strength and actually occupy a spectrum of energies (not unlike how white light includes the spectrum of all the colors of the rainbow), so we need to know more about the specific gamma rays in question to know how damaging they might be.
- Neutrons. Neutrons are the bad boys of the radiation story, and are only found as a consequence of a nuclear reaction (controlled or uncontrolled). Their penetrating power is extraordinary, requiring several meters of solid substance to stop them. They work their harm by indirect ionization, which is not unlike a pool ball smashing into a lamp. A typical example would be the capture of a neutron by a hydrogen nucleus consisting of a single proton, which is then ripped away from its position by the kinetic energy contained by the neutron, and then, like our billiard ball, careens about breaking things, ionizing some atoms/molecules, or shattering the bonds between atoms. In terms of biological damage, neutrons are horrific – roughly ten times more damaging than beta or gamma radiation on a per-unit-of-energy basis.
Of course, there's a lot of complexity buried within each of these 'buckets' of radiation types, especially given the uncertainty that each bucket has a range of energies associated with it.
To help clarify this, imagine that we're talking about radiation as if it were vehicles traveling on a highway. It's not really possible to predict how destructive it would be to collide with 'a vehicle,' because that answer depends on knowing factors like the vehicle’s size, weight, and speed.
Bumping into a small car traveling slowly in your same direction will be far less damaging than slamming head-on into a large fully-loaded Mack truck going 80 mph.
The way this is technically measured is by the energy that each type of radiation carries, measured in units called 'electron volts' (eV). Think of the eV rating as combining both the speed and the mass of the vehicle we are trying to rank.
To the eV designation, we'll add the scientific shorthand of K for 'kilo' signifying 1,000 and M for Mega signifying 1,000,000. So 1 KeV = 1,000 eV, and 1 MeV = 1,000,000 eV
Along our radiation 'highway,' we find that x-rays carry the least energy and are in the vicinity of 1.2 KeV. They are small, light cars. Think Fiat.
Gamma rays are not a single vehicle type, because they can have energies anywhere from a few KeV all the way up to 25 MeV. They are everything and anything from tiny TR-6s to massive, fully loaded, Peterbilt double trailer trucks traveling 80 mph. For reference, the gamma rays emitted by gesium-137, a very common byproduct of nuclear reactors and a main component of the Fukushima releases, is 700 KeV, hundreds of times more energetic than your typical dentist x-ray, but not nearly the most potent gamma ray you could encounter.
Some common gamma emitters are cesium-137, cobalt-60 and technetium-99. Also, about 10% of the radioactivity of iodine-131 is gamma, the rest is beta (making this is a mixed radioelement).
Alpha particles have very high kinetic energies standing at about 5 MeV. However, they have exceptionally poor penetrating power, so we might think of them as very large steamrollers that can lurch forwards violently, but only for a few feet. If you are right next to it, you're in big trouble, but otherwise you're safe.
In recent years, a potent alpha emitter, polonium-210, was used to assassinate both Yasser Arafat and Russian critic Alexander Litvinenko. Because polonium-210 only emits alpha particles, you could carry it in a glass vial in your pocket and slip though radiation detectors at any facility because none of the alpha particles would make it through the vial wall (and even if they somehow did, they’d be stopped by the fabric of your pants pocket). In fact, you could merrily rub it on your skin and suffer no ill effects.
But if ingested? Just a few milligrams, a speck the size of a small grain of salt, would be sufficient to kill. All those gigantic lurching steamrollers would be positioned right next to your living cells, crashing into them and destroying your tissues one cell at a time.
Common alpha emitters include radium, radon, polonium, uranium, and thorium.
Beta particles are electrons ejected during proton decay, and they travel at high speed. They can range anywhere between 5 KeV and 20 MeV. For our purposes, the isotopes most commonly associated with nuclear reactions are in the range of 19 KeV (tritium) to 600 KeV (iodine-131 and strontium-90) to 2.3 MeV (yttrium-90). So these range from medium-sized cars to tractor-trailers, in our analogy.
Beta particles have medium penetrating power and they can easily get through your skin to the living tissues beneath. Think of them as being able to give you a very harsh sunburn from the outside inwards if you were exposed long enough. Again, their worst effects come if ingested, where they can cause lots of damage.
Some common beta emitters are strontium-90, yttrium-90, iodine-131, carbon-14, and tritium.
Neutrons are a very wide topic, so we'll just talk about them in terms of a nuclear reactor. The moderate to fast neutrons emitted as a product of fission are extraordinarily dangerous and can penetrate lead shields and many meters of concrete. They are most readily stopped by interacting with hydrogen, so water and wax (and human bodies) – which contain lots of hydrogen atoms – are better at stopping neutrons than concrete.
Neutrons are not part of the radioactive release from Fukushima. They really aren't ever an issue unless you somehow find yourself near an open, uncontained source of fission – like inside the containment shell of an operating reactor, or in the vicinity of an exploding nuclear bomb. Then neutrons are a BIG problem.
Of note: In the early stages of the Fukushima meltdown, neutron 'beams' were detected 13 times from outside the reactors. This understandably caused the TEPCO workers a lot of worry and slowed their response efforts. This was a certain indication that there was spontaneous fission happening outside of a sealed containment vessel, something that TEPCO was busily assuring the world had not happened. They were still claiming that the vessels were intact and full of pumped cooling water.
The bottom line is that the topic of radioactivity is complex. If we want to make intelligent decisions, then we need to know which type of radiation we are talking about.
For example, there are folks walking about with mail-order radiation detectors and reporting ‘counts per minute’ readings. But counts of what, exactly? Is each ‘count’ a low-energy beta particle or a high-energy gamma ray? There’s a world of difference between the two.
So we owe it to ourselves to dig into the context before coming to conclusions. To determine how concerned we should be about any new data, we have to translate ‘counts’ of any particle into their potential health effects.
Radiation's Effect on Our Health
Okay, here's the thing most people don't know about radiation: We are surrounded by it and have evolved with it over billions of years. The body can deal with exposure to a certain amount of ionizing radiation without any difficulty at all. Naturally occurring radioactive elements, such as uranium and radon and carbon-14, have been a part of life since the very beginning. Gamma rays rain down from the celestial heavens every day.
So radiation alone is not a cause for concern for me. Even temporary radiation levels that are significantly above my normal background baseline, as much as ten or twenty times, are not a concern of mine as a healthy adult.
But as our vehicle analogy above showed, first we have to know what kind of radiation we are talking about. Is it alpha, beta, or gamma? How much energy is it carrying?
We also need to know about the person being exposed to the radiation. Tolerance levels for what's "safe" will be lower for kids, the old, and the frail.
For these reasons, science has struggled to come up with a universal measurement for the health impact caused by radiation. As a result, we have several different measurement methodologies parked into a few slightly different, but essentially related, scales. Each attempts to combine the acute effects of radiation exposure into a single 'dose' that is a measure of both the intensity and the duration of the exposure.
As mentioned previously, some radiation has the ability to travel right through our bodies entirely without being absorbed. So, the ‘dose’ reading needs to focus on the amount of any specific radiation type that will be absorbed (or stopped) by the body and thereby have opportunity to impact the molecules in that body.
The radiation absorbed dose is measured in Gray, rad, rem, and Sievert.
Rads and Grays are related to each other. One Gray is a huge dose, and the rad just breaks the Grays down into finer units. One Gray = 100 rads (rad stands for Radiation Absorbed Dose). These measure the amount of energy that ionizing radiation imparts to matter. This matter could be anything: a block of cement, or a human.
Sieverts and rems are likewise related. One Sievert = 100 rems, but these are adjusted to provide a measure of the impact of the absorbed dose of ionizing radiation on biological tissue. To equate the two systems, the absorbed dose in Grays or rads is multiplied by a 'quality factor' that is specific to each type of radiation to account for their different biological impacts: the result is Sieverts or rems. Thus, using our vehicle analogy from before, our small sedans get an adjustment factor of 1, while heavier vehicles get an adjustment factor as high as 10-20 times greater.
http://media.PeakProsperity.com/imag...type-chart.jpg
(Source)
Based on this table, it's no wonder that polonium-210 is such a devastating radiological poison, because alpha particle get an adjustment factor of 20 (!), making them twice as deadly as fast neutrons, even. But, again, the alpha particles have to be ingested to have that impact, whereas neutrons can travel through ten feet of concrete and still be dangerous.
Keep in mind this table is a huge simplification of a very complicated field of study. For example, it also matters which tissues are being exposed, as they have very different sensitivities to radiation.
However, if we are talking about an episode of external exposure to radiation, like a worker at Fukushima might get, then we care about the Sievert or rem scale:
- 1 Sievert (or 1 Sv), or 100 rem, will induce nausea and reduce the white blood cell count
- 5 Sv, or 500 rems, would cause death for 50% of those exposed in a matter of months
- 10 Sv, or 1,000 rems, is 100% fatal within weeks
The above table leaves out the element of time, so if you are standing near a source of ionizing radiation that is hitting you at the rate of 1 SV per hour, after ten hours you will have received 10 Sv, a fatal dose. If you stand next to that source for an hour you will get nauseous, and destroy some of your white blood cells. If you only stand there for ten minutes, you'll receive something like 100 mS (the maximum yearly allowed dose for U.S. nuclear workers) and likely not feel any adverse effects.
Thus, dose is a function of intensity and time. You may recall seeing the grainy footage of Chernobyl ‘workers’ ducking out from behind cover and racing to move a single wheelbarrow of rubble from point A to point B. In those few seconds, they may have received a lifetime maximum dose of radiation and were (hopefully) sent home after accomplishing that one task.
The average global background radiation is 0.27 microS/hour (that's millionths of a Sievert). If we multiply that number by 24x365, it yields an average yearly dose of 2.4 mS/yr. TEPCO workers are permitted to receive 250 mS/yr, while U.S. nuclear worker standards are 100 mS/yr, which is roughly 25 times greater than background.
The average airport security screening device delivers a dose of 0.25 microS, or the equivalent of a full day's background radiation. If that alarms you, just know that during the actual flight you take, the average exposure is ten times higher than that – providing 2.7 microS per hour of flight at cruising altitude, or ten times normal background. So a 5-hour flight at cruising altitude will provide you with a dose of gamma radiation that measures 54 times more than you get at the airport screening itself, or two full days worth of background radiation.
Again, at these levels, I am not even remotely concerned. If there were something to worry about, then the epidemiological data from flight attendants and pilots would have long ago revealed a health concern. That's one reason why I'm not worried about periodic episodes of 10x normal background radiation.
Of course, the Sievert is a very crude scale, developed a long time ago. One might argue that the biological impact of airport screeners and whole-body gamma irradiation might be more subtle and complex due to differences in tissue responses and how the radiation is concentrated on the surface of the skin by airport scanners. All of that remains an open question to me, but not enough of one to concern me.
Still, the point here is that we are surrounded by radiation all the time, and we absorb a yearly dose no matter where we live – but Denver-ites get a lot more than people living in Miami due to the altitude (less atmospheric protection from extra planetary gamma arrays).
Here's a link to a super useful graphic that visually shows the Sievert doses of both ordinary life and the Fukushima accident in relation to each other.
Based on this chart, plus all of the information above, even if your background radiation goes up by a factor of ten or twenty, I wouldn't be concerned.
Contamination Is the Real Danger
But radioactive contamination? That's a whole different beast.
By "contamination," I mean ingesting some radioactive isotopes or particles that become lodged in the body somehow. Perhaps it's a small speck of radioactive dust that gets lodged in the lung where it will persist (like coal dust and asbestos do), or perhaps it's a substance that our bodies try to accumulate because it resembles a biologically useful element (as is the case with iodine or strontium).
In Part II: The Contamination Threat, we examine in depth the threats posed by radioactive contamination, including the most prevalent contaminants to be wary of, and the compounding effects of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. One of the most nefarious aspects of contamination is how it uses Nature's processes against itself.
For the record, we are aware of no imminent public health threat from nuclear contamination outside of already-identified "hot zones." But for those who wish to better understand the risks and prudent protection measures related to the real dangers of a similar Fukushima-type event in the future (or an unfortunate escalation of the current Fukushima situation), being forewarned is forearmed.
Click here to access Part II of this report (free executive summary; enrollment required for full access).
http://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/8...de_title_84656
So changing the term to "Contamination" instead of "Radiation" is supposed to make a difference...semantics is all it is!!!! It still means http://www.peakprosperity.com/sites/...l-80773552.jpg
I believe that the media stopped reporting on this because it is indeed a major catostrophic event. I think they don't want people to freak out. Truth is....I don't think there is anything they can do about it now that it has happened. We were warned by many that this could happen and it has. The reality is that we are going to have to live out (or die out) the consequences of this event. Please remember that this happened almost at the same time that the oil companies blew up the Gulf of Mexico and then saturated it with chemicals. If the media was reporting on this they would just be telling us lies anyway. Like all the very large fish and bird kills that happened around that time....they said is "natural." LOL. When flocks of birds fell from the sky they said they committed suicide due to fireworks. Give me an effing break. If the media was reporting on this then that is the kind of bs they would be telling us, instead of the actual TRUTH. And the truth is a very hard pill to swallow.
It's better than the lie about flocks of birds commiting suicide and diving to the ground due to fear of fireworks. At least on the face of it.
I agree there might be nothing they can do to stop it, but they need to be tracking and reporting it so people can make an effort protect themselves from the effects of the radiation ...too lie and cover and distract is inexcusable IMO. This is a life or death situation and the crisis goes on......while the band plays on...we are in the twilight zone!Quote:
I believe that the media stopped reporting on this because it is indeed a major catostrophic event. I think they don't want people to freak out. Truth is....I don't think there is anything they can do about it now that it has happened. We were warned by many that this could happen and it has. The reality is that we are going to have to live out (or die out) the consequences of this event.
36 Signs The Media Is Lying To You About How Radiation From Fukushima Is Affecting The West Coast
The west coast of the United States is being absolutely fried by radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and the mainstream media is not telling us the truth about this. What you are about to see is a collection of evidence that is quite startling. Taken collectively, this body of evidence shows that nuclear radiation from Fukushima is affecting sea life in the Pacific Ocean and animal life along the west coast of North America in some extraordinary ways. But the mainstream media continues to insist that we don’t have a thing to worry about. The mainstream media continues to insist that radiation levels in the Pacific and along the west coast are perfectly safe. Are they lying to us? Evaluate the evidence compiled below and come to your own conclusions…
#1 Independent researchers have measured alarmingly high levels of radiation on the beaches of the west coast. For example, the video posted below was taken on December 23rd, 2013 at Pacifica State Beach. As you can see in this video, radiation levels near the water are up to five times higher than normal background radiation…
#2 According to Oceanus Magazine, the total amount of cesium-137 that has been released into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima is 10,000 to 100,000 times greater than the amount released into the oceans by the Chernobyl disaster or by the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests of the 1960s.
#3 Former MSNBC host Cenk Uygur has admitted that while he was at MSNBC he was instructed not to warn the public about the radiation coming from Fukushima…“I was on MSNBC at the time when this happened, I said, “Don’t trust what the Japanese government is saying, they’ll say trust what the electric power company is saying. Go, go, go, get outta there. Get as far away from that plant as you can. It’s literally a core meltdown.” And they always don’t want people to panic, so they were always like, “Oh it’s going to be okay.” [...] I’m like, “You’re crazy man, don’t be anywhere near that reactor.” And I remember at the time, of course not at The Young Turks, but on cable news, people were like, “Hey Cenk, you know, I don’t know that you want to say that, because the official government position is that it’s safe.” Oh, is that the official government position? Now go explain that to the people who served on the USS Ronald Reagan.”#4 71 U.S. sailors who assisted with the initial Fukushima relief efforts have developed serious diseases such as testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, Leukemia, “unremitting gynecological bleeding” and brain tumors since that time as a result of exposure to radiation coming from Fukushima.
#5 Something is causing starfish all along the west coast of the United States to literally disintegrate into piles of “white goo“…Researchers say nuclear pollution from the 2011 earthquake in Japan that damaged the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant could be partially to blame for a disease wiping out starfish along the West Coast.#6 Bald eagles are dying in unprecedented numbers in Utah, and nobody can figure out why this is happening…
Dr. Peter Raimondi of the University of Santa Cruz says something is making starfish susceptible to whats believed to be a bacteria coined “Wasting Disease.” It essentially disintegrate the marine invertebrates into a white goo, after the starfish loses its legs.Bald eagles are dying in Utah — 20 in the past few weeks alone — and nobody can figure out why.#7 Huge numbers of dead birds are dropping dead and washing up along the coastlines of Alaska. It is being reported that many of the carcases of the dead birds are “broken open and bleeding”.
Hundreds of the majestic birds — many with wing spans of 7 feet or more — migrate here each winter, gathering along the Great Salt Lake and feasting on carp and other fish that swim in the nearby freshwater bays.
Earlier this month, however, hunters and farmers across five counties in northern and central Utah began finding the normally skittish raptors lying listless on the ground. Many suffered from seizures, head tremors and paralysis in the legs, feet and wings.
#8 The recent deaths of thousands of birds in Oregon is absolutely baffling scientists.
#9 Something is causing large numbers of seals and walruses up in Alaska to lose hair and develop “oozing sores”.
#10 Substantial numbers of polar bears along the coast of Alaska are suffering from fur loss and open sores.
#11 There is an epidemic of sea lion deaths along the California coastline.
#12 The population of sockeye salmon along the coastlines of Alaska is at a “historic low”.
#13 Something is causing Pacific herring to bleed from their gills, bellies and eyeballs.
#14 Dangerous levels of cesium-137 have been discovered in mushrooms and berries grown along the west coast.
#15 According to an absolutely shocking report put out by the National Academy of Sciences, it has been proven that Pacific Bluefin tuna have transported radioactive material “across the entire North Pacific Ocean”…“We report unequivocal evidence that Pacific Bluefin tuna, Thunnus orientalis, transported Fukushima-derived radionuclides across the entire North Pacific Ocean.”#16 Something seems to be causing a substantial spike in the death rate for killer whales living off of the coast of British Columbia.
#17 Experts have found very high levels of cesium-137 in plankton living in the waters of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the west coast.
#18 One test in California found that 15 out of 15 Bluefin tuna were contaminated with radiation from Fukushima.
#19 Back in 2012, the Vancouver Sun reported that cesium-137 was being found in a very high percentage of the fish that Japan was selling to Canada…
• 73 percent of the mackerel
• 91 percent of the halibut
• 92 percent of the sardines
• 93 percent of the tuna and eel
• 94 percent of the cod and anchovies
• 100 percent of the carp, seaweed, shark and monkfish
#20 An EU-funded study concluded that Fukushima released up to 210 quadrillion becquerels of cesium-137 into the atmosphere.
#21 One very experienced Australian adventurer has stated that he felt as though “the ocean itself was dead” as he journeyed from Japan to San Francisco recently…The next leg of the long voyage was from Osaka to San Francisco and for most of that trip the desolation was tinged with nauseous horror and a degree of fear.#22 It is being projected that the radioactivity of coastal waters off the U.S. west coast could double over the next five to six years.
“After we left Japan, it felt as if the ocean itself was dead,” Macfadyen said.
“We hardly saw any living things. We saw one whale, sort of rolling helplessly on the surface with what looked like a big tumour on its head. It was pretty sickening.
“I’ve done a lot of miles on the ocean in my life and I’m used to seeing turtles, dolphins, sharks and big flurries of feeding birds. But this time, for 3000 nautical miles there was nothing alive to be seen.”
In place of the missing life was garbage in astounding volumes.
“Part of it was the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Japan a couple of years ago. The wave came in over the land, picked up an unbelievable load of stuff and carried it out to sea. And it’s still out there, everywhere you look.”
#23 The deputy chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee for Natural Resources, Maxim Shingarkin, says that seafood captured off the northwest coast of the United States is so radioactive that it represents a “danger for mankind”…
#24 According to one recent scientific report, radiation from Fukushima could affect our seafood for “many generations” and ultimately kill more than a million people…This cycle will last for many generations, because of the food chain of fish and other marine fauna, and the radioactivity will be recycled and in fact the meat content will increase rather than decreasing by decay. Even if only one one-hundredth of the radioactivity (more than 1e15 Bq of CS137) were to enter this recirculation pattern, the collective whole body ingestion dose over many generations would exceed 1e7 Sv, sufficient to kill more than 1,000,000 people.#25 The Japanese government has estimated that approximately 300 tons of highly radioactive water is pouring into the Pacific Ocean from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear facility every single day.
#26 A senior researcher of marine chemistry at the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Meteorological Research Institute says that “30 billion becquerels of radioactive cesium and 30 billion becquerels of radioactive strontium” are being released into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima every single day.
#27 According to Tepco, a total of somewhere between 20 trillion and 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium have gotten into the Pacific Ocean since the Fukushima disaster first began.
#28 According to a professor at Tokyo University, 3 gigabecquerels of cesium-137 are flowing into the port at Fukushima Daiichi every single day.
#29 It is being projected that significant levels of cesium-137 will reach every corner of the Pacific Ocean by the year 2020.
#30 It has been estimated that the entire Pacific Ocean will soon “have cesium levels 5 to 10 times higher” than what we witnessed during the era of heavy atomic bomb testing in the Pacific many decades ago.
#31 The immense amount of radioactive material being released into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima has caused environmental activist Joe Martino to issue the following warning…“Your days of eating Pacific Ocean fish are over.”#32 The Iodine-131, Cesium-137 and Strontium-90 that are constantly being released from Fukushima are going to affect the health of those living in the northern hemisphere for a very, very long time. Just consider what Harvey Wasserman had to say about this…Iodine-131, for example, can be ingested into the thyroid, where it emits beta particles (electrons) that damage tissue. A plague of damaged thyroids has already been reported among as many as 40 percent of the children in the Fukushima area. That percentage can only go higher. In developing youngsters, it can stunt both physical and mental growth. Among adults it causes a very wide range of ancillary ailments, including cancer.#33 Outdoor radiation levels at Fukushima recently hit a new all-time high.
Cesium-137 from Fukushima has been found in fish caught as far away as California. It spreads throughout the body, but tends to accumulate in the muscles.
Strontium-90’s half-life is around 29 years. It mimics calcium and goes to our bones.
#34 According to the Wall Street Journal, it is being projected that the cleanup of Fukushima could take up to 40 years to complete.
#35 Yale Professor Charles Perrow is warning that if the cleanup of Fukushima is not handled with 100% precision that humanity could be threatened “for thousands of years”…“Conditions in the unit 4 pool, 100 feet from the ground, are perilous, and if any two of the rods touch it could cause a nuclear reaction that would be uncontrollable. The radiation emitted from all these rods, if they are not continually cool and kept separate, would require the evacuation of surrounding areas including Tokyo. Because of the radiation at the site the 6,375 rods in the common storage pool could not be continuously cooled; they would fission and all of humanity will be threatened, for thousands of years.”#36 There are very alarming reports that new “unexplained plumes of radioactive steam” are rising at Fukushima. Japanese officials are not able to get inside and see what is causing these plumes. Some are speculating that the crisis at Fukushima just got a whole lot worse. The following is from a recent Ecologist article…Unexplained plumes of radioactive steam have been rising from Fukushima’s Reactor Building 3, Could a major meltdown be on the way?If a full-blown meltdown does happen at Fukushima, it would be an environmental disaster unlike anything that we have ever seen before in human history.
Fukushima’s Reactor Building 3 exploded on 13th March 2011 as a result of a hydrogen buildup, breaching the building’s containment and emitting a huge plume of radiation. The reactor itself is in meltdown.
And now fresh plumes of steam have been seen coming out the structure. These have now been confirmed by Tepco, the owner of the nuclear plant, from 19th December onwards. The company believes the steam is coming from the fifth floor of the building.
However it does not know the cause of the steam. Lethal levels of radiation and the physical damage to the structure have so far made entry and inspection impossible.
As we enter 2014, we are entering a time when the world is becoming increasingly unstable. The global economy is being shaken, political corruption is seemingly everywhere, evidence of advanced social decay is all around us and the earth itself is starting to groan and crack with increasingly regularity. But the mainstream media continues to insist that everything is going to be just fine. That is one of the reasons why I wrote my new novel. The American people deserve to hear the truth and be warned about the great challenges that are rapidly approaching.
In the end, millions upon millions of people could end up getting seriously ill as a result of all of this radiation coming from Fukushima. Most of them will never even know why they have gotten sick.
And if there is a major earthquake or a significant accident during the cleanup at Fukushima, we could actually see huge sections of Japan be evacuated permanently.
It would be hard to overstate just how serious all of this is. But you won’t hear about this from the mainstream media. Their story is that “everything is okay” and they are sticking to it.
Source: thetruthwins.com
The US bans some of the agricultural products from Japan due to radiation contamination from Fukushima and does FDA undermine the potential dangers of low radiation?
Recently, South Korea’s top newspaper, The Dong-A-Ilbo reported that “Concerns over Japan’s radioactive contamination and its seafood is spreading to most countries in the Pacific basin”. South Korea has recently banned all the fishery imports from Japan and since 2011 other countries China have banned the import of vegetables, seafood and dairy products from at least 5 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima.
Due to the health concerns of the public, FDA has increased surveillance of products from Japan and recently, United States has banned agricultural and fishery imports from 14 prefectures in Japan.
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Although the Japanese government claim that the situation is ‘under control’, many other countries and researchers believe that Fukushima nuclear plant is at the state of emergency at the moment. Find out how Fukushima nuclear plant is now leaking between 150-250 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean daily.
According to FDA’s website, FDA is processing all food products from Japan in four categories:
Category 1: Products that the Japanese government has restricted for export or sale. (These products are prevented from entry to US):
- Prefectures, and dace, ayu, and cherry salmon (yamame) from Fukushima.
- Spinach, lettuce, celery, cress, endive, escarole, chard, collards, and other head-type leafy vegetables from the Fukushima Prefecture.
- Turnips and other non-head type leafy vegetables, as well as broccoli, cauliflower, flower head brassicas (i.e. broccoli and cauliflower), mushrooms bamboo shoots, and Ostrich fern from the Fukushima Prefecture.
- Sand lance from Fukushima Prefecture
- Milk from the Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures.
- Spinach and kakina from the Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures.
Category 2: Products from Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Tochigi Prefectures that Japanese government has not currently banned:
Under Import Alert 99-33, the authorities may detain dairy and fresh produce Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Tochigi Prefectures when they arrive in the U.S.
Category 3: Foods and feed products that are not covered by FDA’s Import Alert coming from these three Japanese Prefectures:
- Fukushima
- Ibaraki
- Tochigi
Category 4: All the other FDA-regulated food products from Japan that are not listed in the Import Alert and do not belong to other categories
Authorities will review these products using standard procedures, and as part of this may monitor and sample products as resources permit.
What about fish that swim from the reactor site into U.S. fishing waters?
According to FDA’s website, “Japan to U.S. waters would take several days under the best of circumstances. Vessels fishing in waters far off U.S. shores must also travel several days to return to port. It is unlikely that a fish exposed to significant levels of radionuclides near the reactor could travel to U.S. waters and be caught and harvested. If this improbable trip did occur, the level of short-lived radionuclides such as I-131 would drop significantly through natural radioactive decay during the time needed to make the journey. At this time, Japanese tests have detected longer-lived radionuclides such as Cs-137 in only a few samples and at levels below FDA DILs. FDA’s testing of fish imported from Japan has not detected the presence of Cs-137. In the unlikely scenario that pollutants could affect fish that have traveled to the U.S., FDA will work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to test seafood caught in those areas. Together FDA and NOAA will also inspect facilities that process and sell seafood from those areas.”
However, according to the Swedish government who carefully monitored radioactivity from plant and animal foods, most animal products including meat, dairy and fish (especially cod, tuna and halibut that contain large amount of mercury) have higher radioactive substances compared to fruits, grains and vegetables. In fact, Tuna has the highest contamination since it travels around the entire Pacific Ocean, so it’s potentially more contaminated (with toxins, heavy metals and radiation) than wild salmon. On the other hand, wild salmon is very territorial and does not travel as much as tuna. It’s also safer to eat salmon from rivers of Canada like Copper River salmon or Coho salmon.
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Is FDA undermining the potential dangers of low radiation by considering that radioactive fish is safe?
According to a report published in the International Journal of Health, large amounts of airborne radioactivity has been spread throughout Japan and other nations and there could have been more than 14,000 deaths in US related to Fukushima.
The report states that “Some samples of radioactivity in precipitation, air, water, and milk, taken by the U.S. government, showed levels hundreds of times above normal; however, the small number of samples prohibits any credible analysis of temporal trends and spatial comparisons. U.S. health officials report weekly deaths by age in 122 cities, about 25 to 35 percent of the national total. Deaths rose 4.46 percent from 2010 to 2011 in the 14 weeks after the arrival of Japanese fallout, compared with a 2.34 percent increase in the prior 14 weeks. The number of infant deaths after Fukushima rose 1.80 percent, compared with a previous 8.37 percent decrease. Projecting these figures for the entire United States yields 13,983 total deaths and 822 infant deaths in excess of the expected”.
The report also shows that although the radiation exposure in US have been far below those in Japan, the exposure to low radiation (that was previously assumed to be harmless) can cause solid tumors and leukemia, damage to the central nervous system and elevated disease rates in children born to women who underwent pelvic X-rays during pregnancy.
According to an article published in the Institute of Science in Society, Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, states that “low dose radiation is all the more dangerous because it does not kill the targeted cell, but allows its influence to spread widely to adjacent cells, thus multiplying the radiation effect (about 100 fold).”
Other studies including the one published in the National Academy of Sciences shows that even low exposure to radiation can increase the risk of many health problems and there is not threshold for radiation that can be considered safe or harmless.
Studies show that chronic fatigue syndrome, dizziness, back pain, early aging syndrome, muscle and joint pains, fever, cervical lymph node sensitivity and weight loss are some of other symptoms of exposure to low radiation.
http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants...-radiation.php
Bystander Effects Multiply Dose & Harm from Ionizing Radiation
Effects of radiation felt by non-radiated neighbouring cells prompt a rethink of radiation risk, radiotherapy and radioprotection Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
A fully referenced version of this article is posted on ISIS members website and is otherwise available for download here
Please circulate widely and repost, but you must give the URL of the original and preserve all the links back to articles on our websiteLow dose big effects
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/graphics/Death-camp-promote.jpg Special report to be included in Science in Society #55 (available August 2012). Pre-order now or Subscribe. All proceeds from SiS 55 will be donated to children of Fukushima and Chernobyl
Linear dose response relationships are routinely used in risk assessments of exposure to environmental hazards, and ionizing radiation is no exception. Typically, effects at high doses that kill cells, cause gene mutations and cancers, are back extrapolated to obtain an exposure limit at which the harm caused is considered miniscule or acceptable in view of the benefits gained. Ionizing radiation was widely believed to cause mutations by directly breaking the bonds of DNA molecules in the nucleus.
In the early 1990s, Hatsumi Nagasawa and John Little at Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, discovered, to their surprise, that while a linear relationship applies to high doses of a-radiation (from 5cGy to 1.2 Gy, where cGy = 10-2Gy) (see Box), a much enhanced effect was obtained at very low doses of 0.03 cGy to 0. 25 cGy, when 30 to 45 % of the cells in a population of Chinese hamster cells exhibited sister chromatid exchange (SCE involving double-stranded DNA breaks). At that low dose of radiation, only 0.07 to 0.6 % of the nuclei should have been directly hit by an alpha-particle. Yet the frequency of SCE rose rapidly at very low doses reaching a plateau below 1 cGy, after which no further increase occurred with increasing dose, though a decline occurred at higher doses. That was the first indication that damaging signals may be transmitted from irradiated to neighbouring non-irradiated cells in a population, and they called it “the bystander effect” [1].
In another experiment they looked at mutation frequency of a specific enzyme, and found the same enhanced effect at very low dose. At the lowest dose of 0.83 cGy, the efficiency with which the alpha-particle can induce a mutation increases nearly five-fold; the mutation frequency was the same as that due a dose 100 times as great (0.83 Gy).
Using the then newly developed microbeam of very low dose alpha particles to target individual cells, researchers at Columbia University, New York, showed that hitting the cytoplasm was sufficient to induce mutation in the nucleus [3]. They commented that low dose radiation is all the more dangerous because it does not kill the targeted cell, but allows its influence to spread widely to adjacent cells, thus multiplying the radiation effect (about 100 fold).
Bystander effects now abundantly confirmed
Absorbed dose, equivalent dose and effect dose
Radioactivity is measured physically as Curies (1 Ci = 3.7 x1010 disintegrations per second). But that does not take account of the energy of different kinds of radiation and their interaction with biological tissues.
The absorbed dose, Gray (Gy) is equal to and energy of 1 Joule/ kg absorbed.
The equivalent dose Sievert (Si), is weighted by biological potency of different kinds of radiation (1 for g-rays, b-particles, and X-rays, 20 for a-particles and 10 for neutrons). The effective dose also in Sievert takes into account the sensitivities of different tissues, applying weighting factors derived from previous epidemiological studies of radio-induced cancers. Thus, lots of judgements are used in arriving at the effective dose, based on a model of linear energy transfer (and linear dose response relationship) that has proven inapplicable for cells and organisms.
Since then, a wide range of bystander effects in cells not directly exposed to ionizing radiation have been found, which are the same as or similar to those in the cells that were exposed [4], including cell death and chromosomal instability.
Actually, radiation induced bystander effects have been described as far back as 1954, when factors that cause damage to chromosomes could be detected in the blood of irradiated patients. Carmel Mothersill and Colin Seymour at McMaster University published a key paper in 1997 showing that filtered medium from irradiated human epithelial cells can reduce the survival of unirradiated cells, suggesting that soluble factors produced by the irradiated cells were involved in the bystander effects [5].
Indeed, serum from cancer patients treated with radiotherapy also causes cell death and chromosomal instability in unexposed cells in culture, and this has been shown as far back as 1968 [6].
In 2001, researchers at Columbia University, New York used microbeams to target single cells with exactly defined numbers of a-particles. They found that hitting 10 % of the cells induced the same frequency of cancerous transformation as when every cell in the dish was targeted [7].
More recently, bystander DNA double-strand breaks were induced in a three-dimensional human tissue culture that is closer to in vivo conditions. The results obtained by the team led by Olga Sedelnikova at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, were much more dramatic. In marked contrast to cultured cells in two-dimensions where maximal DSB occurred 30 minutes after irradiation, the incidence of DSBs in bystander cells reached a maximum between 12 to 48 hours after irradiation, gradually decreasing only over 7 days. At the maximum, 40 to 60 % of cells were affected [8]. These increases in bystander DSBs were followed by increased apoptosis and micronucleus formation, loss of nuclear DNA methylation and increased fractions of senescent cells. The authors commented that treatment of primary tumours with radiation therapy frequently results in the growth of a secondary malignancy of the same or different origin. They raised the question on whether bystander effects could introduce negative complications in radiation therapy, such as genomic instability in normal tissues. They concluded that induced senescence might be a protective mechanism. On the other hand, failure of these protective pathways can lead to the appearance of proliferating, damaged cells and to an increased probability of oncogenic transformation.
New research from the University of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania throws further light on the implications of bystander effects for radiotherapy. It is customary for patients receiving bone-marrow transplant to undergo whole body irradiation to kill the bone marrow cells of the host so as to encourage repopulation by transplanted cells. The researcher found that irradiated mouse recipients significantly impaired the long-term repopulating ability of transplanted mouse haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) 17 hours after exposure to irradiated hosts, and before the cells began to divide. There was an increase in acute cell death associated with accelerated proliferation of the bystander HSCs. The effect was marked by a dramatic down-regulation of c-Kit (a proto-oncogene), apparently because of elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS). Administration of an antioxidant chemical or ectopically over-expression of a ROS scavenging enzyme catalase improved the function of transplanted HSCs in the irradiated hosts [9]. This obviously has implications for protecting patients during radiotherapy as well as those receiving bone-marrow transplant.
What causes the bystander effects?
The bystander effect is largely a low-dose phenomenon, appearing at doses below 10 cGy [10]. Higher doses often do not produce bystander effect possibly because the cells targeted are killed before they can influence non-targeted cells. As with the “war on cancer”, numerous attempts have been made to identify the genes or gene products involved in the bystander effects. And as in cancer, genes up-regulated or down-regulated are secondary to a state of electronic imbalance (see [11] Cancer a Redox Disease, SiS 54) created by the ionizing radiation, which breaks chemical bonds and generate free electrons (see Box 2).
When cells are irradiated, it is likely that ionization of one or more of the atoms on DNA molecules will occur in a direct hit, breaking the DNA chain or the links between chains. However, direct attack of radiation on the structure of DNA is not the only way radiation affect cells. The human body is about 70 % water; hence water is probably the most frequent target of ionizing radiation. Ionization of water leads to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (see Box 3) that damages DNA, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and other molecules. It is becoming increasingly clear that ROS is a major culprit in the bystander effect, as suggested by those who discovered the effect [1, 2]. This has been confirmed by more recent findings.
Box 2
How ionizing radiation can impact on health
Ionizing radiation comes from radioactive decay of unstable chemical elements, which are generated in the nuclear fission process in nuclear power reactors, or in linear accelerators that produce X-rays and electron beams (b-particles) for radiotherapy [12, 13]. In general photons or particles with energy above 10 eV (electron volts) are ionizing.
Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nucleus of a large atom into two, along with a few neutrons and release of energy in the form of heat and g-rays; about 0.2 to 0.4 % of fissions also produce a-particles (nuclei of helium-4 with two protons and two neutrons), or nuclei of tritium (one proton and two neutrons). The fission products are often unstable and hence radioactive; they undergo b-decay giving out b-particles, antineutrinos, and additional g-rays. Antinutrinos pass easily through ordinary matter; consequently, the major ionising radiations that can affect health are a- and b-particles, X-rays, g-rays and neutrons.
a- and b-particles are directly ionizing radiation; they interact directly with atoms, and if the energy is sufficient, knock outer electrons away to produce a free electron and a positively charged ion. A b-particle produces more than 100 ionizing events per cm in its track, whereas an a-particle produces more than 10 000 ionizing events per cm. But while a b-particle can travel for centimetres through tissues, a-particles travel for micrometres only. As the energy of each particle increases, so does the range. Consequently, external sources of a-particles are stopped by the skin, while external b-particles can penetrate into the body. However, inhaled or ingested sources of a-particles can do a lot more damage within the body.
X-rays and g-rays induce ionization indirectly through 3 principal mechanisms: Compton scattering where they are scattered from the outer electrons of atoms, transferring energy to the electrons, and if enough energy is transferred, give rise to a free electron and a positively charged ion. In the photoelectric effect, one of the inner electrons of the atom absorbs the energy of the X-ray or g-ray, and is ejected from the atom, again leaving a positively charged ion. Following this, one of the outer electrons ‘falls’ in to fill the vacancy, and X-ray is emitted from the atom. In pair formation, the x-ray or g-ray interacts with the electric field of the nucleus, and is converted into an electron and a positron, the positron in travelling through the tissue material will usually react with another electron and become converted back to two X-rays or g-rays.
Neutrons are scattered directly from the atomic nuclei of atoms, resulting either in losing energy that is released as g-rays or else it is absorbed by the nuclei resulting in a new nucleus (element) being formed. If the new nucleus is unstable, radioactive decay occurs creating a-, b- or g-rays. The second option can only occur if the neutron is sufficiently slow, and that is what happens in the nuclear fission process in nuclear power reactors.
Some of the free electrons generated by the ionizing radiation may be energetic enough to cause ionizations of their own; this is the secondary photoelectron effect of ionizing radiation.
ROS and oxidized extracellular DNA
Box 3
Reactive oxygen species generated from water [14]
Oxygen is the most important electron acceptor in the biosphere. It readily accepts unpaired electrons to give rise to a series of partially reduced species collectively known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). These include superoxide O·2-, hydrogen peroxide H2O2, hydroxyl radical HO· and peroxyl radical OO·, which may be initiate and propagate free radical chain reactions damaging to cells. Hydroxyl radicals are generated by ionizing radiation either directly from water, or indirectly by the formation of secondary partial ROS that are subsequently converted to hydroxyl radicals by metabolic processes. Gamma rays, beta and alpha particles are all able to ionize water to produce hydroxyl radicals, the most reactive, and therefore potentially the most hazardous. Hydroxyl radicals have a very short persistence time, while hydrogen peroxide is the most long-lasting. Hydrogen peroxide can diffuse freely and can generate hydroxyl radicals by reacting with free electrons:
H2O2 + e- → HO· + HO- (1)
Oxidative attack on proteins destroys their enzyme, receptor and other biological function; damage to DNA causes mutations and chromosomal rearrangements; and peroxidation of lipids destroys membrane structure and function.
More than 80 % of energy of ionizing radiation deposited in cells results in the ejection of electrons from water. Subsequent reactions with surrounding water results in the formation of several reactive species: eaq- (hydrated free electron) HO· (hydroxyl radical, the most important reactive oxygen species), H· (hydrogen radical), H2 (hydrogen gas) and H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide, a stable and diffusible reactive oxygen species). These products react rapidly with each other and with surrounding molecules. In the presence of O2, superoxide radicals (another reactive oxygen species) are formed:
eaq- + O2 → O·2- (1)
H· + O2 → O·2- + H+ (2)
Superoxide generates hydrogen peroxide on a longer time scale:
2 O·2- + H+ → O2 + H2O2 (3)
Because of their instability, most of the reactions generating the primary radical products will have taken place within 1 millisecond, but superoxide and H2O2 will persist and diffuse to more distant sites.
Cellular damage by hydroxyl radical attack depends partly on the antioxidant status of the cell and partly on the availability of reducing systems capable of reducing or activating superoxide or hydrogen peroxide. The cellular antioxidant status determines the intracellular concentration of ROS. It has been shown that the effects of H2O2 resemble those of ionizing radiation. Cells exhibiting high levels of SOD, catalase, and peroxidase activity are relatively less vulnerable to secondary effects of radiation. Glutathione peroxidase catalyses the reaction:
H2O2 + 2 GSH (reduced glutathione) → 2 H2O + GSSG (oxidized glutathione) (4)
The activity of this peroxidase depends on the availability of reduced GSH. Regeneration of GSH from GSSG by glutathione reductase requires reduced nicotinamde adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) as electron donor.
The hydroxyl radical can be produced from more stable ROS via the participation of an electron donor, and many transition metal ions can act as electron donors:
H2O2 + Fe (II) → Fe(III) + HO- + HO· (5)
Thus, hydroxyl radicals are generated from H2O2 at sites where reduced transition metals are present.
A team led by Aleksei Ermakov at the Research Centre for Medical Genetics, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow Researchers showed that an extracellular DNA (ecDNA) derived from the cell genome participates in the bystander effect induced by X-ray exposure in human lymphocytes and human umbilical-vein epithelial cells [15]. Their previous work suggested that radiation-sensitive cells undergoing apoptosis serve as a source of ecDNA fragments that diffuse in the medium and bind to DNA receptors on the surface of bystander cells. Bystander effects could be stimulated by ecDNA of irradiated cells but not by ecDNA produced by normal cells. In a new study, the team tested the idea that the difference between the two types of ecDNA is due to DNA oxidation events occurring during and after irradiation. They compared the production of NO (nitric oxide, a free radical and reactive oxygen species) and ROS in human endothelial cells that were irradiated at a low dose radiation, or exposed to the ecDNAR extracted from the media conditioned by irradiated cells, or exposed to the genomic DNA oxidized in vitro by treatment with H2O2, (DNAo1), or H2O2 plus uv light (DNAO2more strongly oxidizing). They found that all three treatments gave similar responses. The production of NO at 2h was suppressed at low doses of 0.03 Gy and 0.1 Gy but increased at 0.5 Gy or higher. Similarly, the ecDNAR extracted from media conditioned by irradiated cells decreased NO but not the extracellular DNA from non-irradiated cells; the oxidized DNA o1 and more so DNAO2 also reduced NO. ROS levels in general were increased in all three treatments by 1.2 to 1.8-times the controls with ecDNAR and oxidized DNA o1 and DNAO2 to larger extents than the direct radiation, or the bystander effect due from the conditioned medium.
Other researchers have shown that the major source of ROS in endothelial cells is the activity of NAD(P)H-oxidases, predominantly one encoded by the NOX4 gene. Irradiation with 0.1 Gy and treatment with ecDNAR led respectively to a 3-fold and 1.7 fold increase in NOX4 mRNA, while oxidized DNA stimulated transcription 5-15 fold compared with unoxidized DNA.
Also in previous work by the Russian team, the bystander effect involves DNA-binding to Toll-like receptor TLR9. This was confirmed by blocking the TLR9 response with chloroquine and oligonucleotide 2088, which suppressed the increase in ROS production and eliminated the effects of ecDNAR.
The team suggested that the bystander effect-like properties of ecDNAR and oxidized DNA may be used for the development of novel anti-tumour therapy that may stimulate cell death without actual irradiation, or synergistically with reduced irradiation doses.
Secondary photoelectron effects
Another way low dose ionization radiation can be amplified and appear as bystander effects is through scattering of photons through the tissues. Photons or particles can bounce off one target atom and strike another, generating a further free electron (see Box 2).
A research team at the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Centre and Institute of Oncology Gliwice Branch, Poland investigated direct and bystander effects induced by scattered radiation in two human cell lines – normal bronchial epithelial cells BEAS-2B and lung cancer epithelial cells A549 – placed in a bath of water at different depths and subjected to irradiation by 6 MeV photon beam or 22 MeV electron beam (5Gy maximum dose), and examined for apoptosis and micronucleated cells [16].
They found that for electron radiation both the numbers of apoptotic and micronucleated cells were greater than expected from the corresponding received dose, and the discrepancy between observed and expected becomes larger with increased medium depth. At a depth of 15-17 cm, the observed was ten times the expected, while micronucleated cells was about 2-3 fold. For photon radiation the biological effect did not differ significantly from expected value because photon radiation penetrates the medium better. When cells were placed outside the radiation field or under a shield, differences from expected dose were also found for both photon and electron, but no depth dependence was observed. For cells exposed outside the field of the photon beam, apoptosis was again about 7-10 fold the expected while micronuclei formation was 4-5 fold. For shielded cells under photon irradiation, apoptosis was about 3-fold while micronuclei was about 1.2-fold. For cells exposed outside the radiation field of the electron beam, again, a 10-fold difference from the expected, and for micronucleated cells, 1.5 to 4-fold in BEAS cells, and 4-7 fold in A549 cells. All the irradiated cell medium, when added to non-irradiated A549 cells gave a 2-fold increase in micronucleated cells and a 2-fold increase in apoptotic cells, regardless of the dose of irradiation or whether it was inside the beam, outside the beam or shielded.
Apart from the bystander effects mediated through the exposed cell medium, these experiments indicate that secondary photoelectron scattering may be involved in the biological effects of low-dose radiation. This has been suggested by research published in the early 1990s [17]. Monte Carlo track structure methods were used to illustrate the importance of low-energy electrons produced by low linear-energy-transfer radiations. These low-energy secondary electrons contribute substantially to the dose in all low-LET irradiations, and account for up to nearly 50 % of the total dose imparted to a medium when irradiated with electrons or photons. Up to 50 % of secondary electrons themselves can also undergo further scattering and to generate more free electrons. For most ionizing radiations, nearly 50 % of all ionizations are due to secondary electrons with starting energies less than 1 keV.
Implications for risk assessment, radiotherapy and radioprotection
Risk assessment and radiation protection have been based on extrapolation from known epidemiological data that mainly relate to high dose effects that assume a linear dose-response relationship even at very low doses [4]. This is clearly untenable in view of the bystander effects at low doses, which amplify the effective dose and harm caused.
The best available evidence suggests that bystander effects are mediated by ROS. ROS is well-known to be involved in general oxidative stress, with many downstream effects that mirror bystander effects: DNA breaks, genome instability, cell death, cancer, including cell senescence and aging [18], and cataracts [19]. It is notable that these effects are appearing as significant health impacts linked to the Chernobyl fallout [20] (Chernobyl Deaths Top a Million Based on Real Evidence, SiS 55). The pro-nuclear lobby and regulators should stop denying these impacts and governments should devote much more resources to studying them instead, to prevent repeating the humanitarian disaster in the wake of the Fukushima meltdown (see [21] Truth about Fukushima, SiS 55).
The involvement of ROS also suggests that antioxidant interventions should be considered as a mitigation of bystander effects in those exposed or still being exposed to the Fukushima and Chernobyl fallouts. This is a matter of some urgency. Among the most promising findings are the well-known benefits of green tea in cancer prevention (see [22] Green Tea Against Cancers, SiS 33), and its many antioxidants polyphenols that probably account for reducing risks of heart disease, cancers, Alzheimer’s obesity, arthritis, diabetes, and a host of other conditions associated with oxidative stress (see [23] Green Tea, The Elixir of Life? SiS 33). New research from the Radiation and Cancer Therapeutics Lab at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the Central University of Gujarat in India indeed shows that one of the main green tea polyphenol, EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) is most efficient at protecting DNA against g-radiation induced breaks both inside and outside the cell, and also protects cells against radiation-induced cell death, lipid peroxidation and membrane damage (see [24] Green Tea Compound for Radioprotection, SiS 55).
As far as cancer radiotherapy is concerned, the bystander effects mean that the radiation beam will cover a wider area than the physical beam, and the potential harm may outweigh the presumed benefit. The same goes for diagnostic radiology, as it occurs at doses that might induce more harmful bystander effects than the potential benefit the procedure might deliver. It is also possible that antioxidants could offer radioprotection against these procedures.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Bystander_Ef...tiply_Dose.php
Worst Spill in 6 Months at Stricken Japanese Nuclear Plant
By MARTIN FACKLERFEB. 20, 2014
TOKYO — About 100 tons of highly radioactive water leaked from one of the hundreds of storage tanks at the devastated Fukushima nuclear plant, its operator said on Thursday, calling it the worst spill at the plant in six months.
The operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, said the leak, discovered on Wednesday and stopped on Thursday, happened far enough from the plant’s waterfront that none of the radioactive water was likely to reach the Pacific Ocean, as has happened during some previous spills. Still, the incident was an uncomfortable reminder of the many mishaps that have plagued the containment and cleanup efforts at the plant, as well as the hundreds of tons of contaminated groundwater that still flows unchecked into the Pacific every day.
The company, known as Tepco, said it had traced the latest leak to a pair of valves that were left open by mistake.
The leaked water was among the most severely contaminated that Tepco has reported in the aftermath of the March 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, when damage caused by an earthquake and a tsunami led to meltdowns in three of the plant’s reactors. Each liter of the water contained, on average, 230 million becquerels of particles giving off beta radiation, the company said. About half of the particles were likely to be strontium-90, which is readily taken up by the human body in the same way as calcium, and can cause bone cancer and leukemia.
http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/...ticleLarge.jpg Launch media viewer
The Tokyo Electric Power Company said it had traced the latest leak to a pair of valves that were left open by mistake. Tokyo Electric Power Co., via Associated Press That means the water was about 3.8 million times as contaminated with strontium-90 as the maximum allowed under Japan’s safety standards for drinking water. It also showed levels much more radioactive than a worrisome groundwater reading that Tepco announced earlier this month. That reading — five million becquerels of strontium-90 per liter — which was detected at a location closer to the ocean than the latest spill, prompted criticism of Tepco because the company waited five months to report it publicly.
Critics have assailed the company since the accident, saying it has been slow to acknowledge problems at the stricken plant and has disclosed too little information about the conditions inside. Even so, the government has left the company largely in charge of the cleanup work there.
Tepco has struggled to deal with the hundreds of tons of groundwater that seeps each day into the plant’s damaged reactor buildings, where it is contaminated by the melted nuclear reactor cores. To keep the radioactive water from running into the Pacific, the company must pump it out of the reactor buildings and store it in rows of huge tanks it has erected on the plant’s grounds.
So far, Tepco said, about 340,000 tons of water has accumulated in the tanks, enough to fill more than 135 Olympic-size swimming pools. A ton of water is equivalent to about 240 gallons.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/wo...a.html?hp&_r=0
This should be all over the news...
Airborne plutonium detected outside troubled U.S. nuclear facility — Expert: ‘Radiation event’ appears to have occurred, leading to a release; “Levels are highest ever detected” around site
Feb. 19, 2014: Traces of radiation have been found approximately half a mile northwest of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant [...] Tests by the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center [...] showed evidence of trace amounts of americium and plutonium on an air filter Wednesday afternoon [...] [CEMRC director Russell] Hardy said even though trace amounts of radiation were detected between Tuesday and Sunday, it’s important to note that radiation levels have been “very low and are well below any level of public and environmental hazard.”
Press release from Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center, Feb. 19, 2014: “The levels detected during this time period are higher than the normal background levels of radioactivity from transuranic elements commonly found at this sampling station, thus their presence during this specific time frame appears to indicate a small release of radioactive particles from the WIPP underground exhaust shaft in the brief moments following when the radiation event occurred and when the WIPP ventilation system shifted to the filtration mode.”
AP, Feb. 19, 2014: [...] radiation [is] in the air a half-mile from the site [...] radioactive isotopes americium and plutonium [...] [Hardy] says the levels are the highest ever detected at or around the site but are far below those deemed unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency. The readings came after a radiation alert over the weekend from an underground sensor at the site. Hardy says readings will be completed next week on filters collected from that underground sensor and an air monitor closer to the plant.
Initial ENE report from Sunday: Alarm after 'unusually high' radiation levels at U.S. nuclear site -- Gov't: "We've never seen a level like we are seeing... I can't tell you the amount" -- Could be Plutonium -- 'Unclear' how much radiation released -- Unprecedented event (VIDEO)
See also: LA Times: Expert says 'radiological process' may have forced material out of container at US nuclear site, "Could be a mess"; Officials saying little about extent of problem -- Levels remain too high to let in non-essential personnel -- Air monitors not allowed to collect filters
TV: It’s a “record-high” leak at Fukushima, extraordinarily radioactive — Almost 8,000,000 times limit — Even more toxic since it was from early in disaster — Alarm went off 9 hours before, but disregarded — Now checking for other leaks — “News came as a shock” (VIDEO)
NHK, Feb. 20, 2014: Record-high tainted water leak at Fukushima plant [...] the leaked water contained an extraordinarily high 230-million becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, consisting mainly of strontium 90. The level is about 7.6 million times the government’s permissible standard [...] the highest level of radioactive substances detected so far in the series of tank leaks at the site. [...] Officials say they managed to stop the leak [...] 6 hours after the problem was first discovered. [...] The Nuclear Regulation Authority has http://enenews.com/wp-content/upload...02-300x157.jpginstructed TEPCO to check other tanks for possible leakages.
Published: February 20th, 2014 at 9:54 pm ET
By ENENews
Kyodo, Feb. 20, 2014: More than nine hours before the leak was recognized, an alarm indicating a rise in the tank’s water surface level was issued. But workers thought the device was out of order and also could not find leaks when they patrolled the area [...]
NHK, Feb. 20, 2014: [Tepco] found the water contained 240 million becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, including strontium. [...] an alarm went off more than 9 hours before the leak was spotted, signaling an increase in the tank’s water level. But the tank’s water-level gauge showed a sharp drop, leading workers to believe that the alarm sounded due to the malfunction of the gauge.
AP, Feb. 20, 2014: [Tepco] said the leak involved partially treated water from early in the disaster at the plant, meaning it was more toxic than previous leaks.
Al Jazeera, Feb. 20, 2014: Leaked water is almost 8 million times [legal limit for ocean release].
Tepco: “We think that the amount that leaked out of the barrier is 100 tons [...] As far as we have confirmed at this point there’s no drain nearby [...] We think there’s been no leak into ocean.”
Masakazu Yabuki, head of Fukushima Pref. fishermen’s group: “This news came as a shock.”
Watch NHK’s broadcast here
http://enenews.com/tv-record-high-le...-alarm-went-of
Yeah ...right ....we can believe that.....after all the lies......Quote:
"We think there’s been no leak into ocean.”
Senior Scientist: Fukushima radiation already on West Coast of N. America — We don’t know how much is coming or how fast it’s moving, situation ‘evolving’ — Levels will continue to rise for years — Unprecedented event for Pacific, largest ever radioactive release into ocean (VIDEO)
Center for Marine and Environmental Radiation, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Emphasis Added): The release of radioactive contaminants from Fukushima remains an unprecedented event for the people of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. [...] Some Fukushima radiation has already begun to appear on the West Coast of North America and is expected to peak in most places between 2014 and 2015. [...] continued leaks from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant [...] sparked fears of wide-ranging impacts to the marine ecosystem and human health. Despite concerns, there is no U.S. government agency monitoring the spread of low levels of radiation from Fukushima along the West Coast and around the Hawaiian Islands—even though levels are expected to rise over coming years. Whether you agree with predictions that levels of radiation along the Pacific Coast of North America will be too low to be of human health concern or to impact fisheries and marine life, we can all agree that radiation should be monitored [...]
Published: January 15th, 2014 at 9:10 pm ET
By ENENews
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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Jan. 14, 2014 (Emphasis Added): Although [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution marine chemist Ken] Buesseler does not expect levels to be dangerously high in the ocean or in seafood as the plume spreads 5,000 miles across the Pacific, he believes this is an evolving situation that demands careful, consistent monitoring to make sure predictions are true. “I’m particularly excitedabout finding support for sampling key locations along the West Coast multiple times throughout the coming two years, because radioactivity levels are expected to be increasing,” he says.
Crowdsourcing Fukushima, Jan. 14, 2014 (Emphasis Added): [...] It’s become the largest accidental source of radioactive isotopes to the ocean in history. […] We know there’s contaminated water coming out of there even today […] What we don’t really know is how fast and how much is being transported across the Pacific. Yes, models tell us it will be safe, yes the levels we expect off the US West Coast and Canada we expect to be low, but we need measurements — especially now, as the plume begins to arrive along the West Coast and will actually increase in concentrationover the next 1 to 2 years. Despite public concern about the levels, no public agency in the US is monitoring the activities in the Pacific. […] Without careful, extensive, consistent monitoring, we’ll have no way of knowing how much radiation from Fukushima is reaching our shores, and how it could affect life in the ocean […]
Watch the message from Buesseler here